Sewing!!

It's no secret that I love to sew.  So, instead of bombarding my friends with my projects, I figured I should start blogging about it.

My latest kick is mug rugs.  They're smaller than a placemat but larger than a coaster.  They're big enough for a mug and a snack.  I'm thinking of making them as gifts to hand out this year for the holidays with mugs and some coffee or tea.  I also have a bundle of ten tea towel calendars coming my way.  I'm going to bind those up and add them to the gift.  I'm going to hit up stores like HomeGoods to find the mugs.

What do I love about the mug rugs?  They're quick.  I get to quilt.  They're cute.  Yeah... I think that's it.

Everyone knows that my first love (when it comes to sewing) will always be zippered pouches.  Those, too are quick.  I also enjoy making bags and clutches.  :)

So, without further ado, here's some of my recent projects!

This "Police Box Zip Pouch" was made from a cut and sew fat quarter on Spoonflower.  I swear I can make one of these in ten minutes.  I should time myself.  I boxed the bottom so that it would stand up.  I kind of like the effect.  (See my instructions in my previous post on how to make zip pouches if you're curious.  They really are easy!)

This was my first mug rug.  I feel like there were a lot of errors I made with it, but I did learn quite a bit as I went along.  (For instance, I've never done binding before.  I think I'm going to try a different method next time - but all on the machine again)

This is the one that I'm currently working on.  The fabric that I used for the first one as well as this one was left over scraps from a charm pack purse I made.  I *need* to write up the 'how to' on the purse.  I just haven't had the time.  I also have several other projects that I'm working on, so it's not really a priority.  

Anyway - I'm liking this second mug rug better.  I'm a huge fan of quilting and I didn't do much on the first one.  This one, I ran out of bobbin thread before I finished the horizontal lines last night and since it was midnight, I used that as an excuse to go to bed and leave it for tonight.

And if you're curious, here's the charm pack purse:

It was seriously fun!  I made it in a class.