a few mug rugs (tiny quilts)

Thought I would share pictures of the rug mugs I have been working on the past few weeks. I am retiring the end of this week (whoo hoo!) and I wanted to give the each of the gals on my team a parting gift. I tried to create a mug rug that reflected something about their individual character, tastes or personality. I’m not a very experienced quilter so some were quite challenging for me as most required trying a new technique (or two). I still have one more to complete – it will be a fun chicken theme.

I hope they like them.

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My attempt at shabby chic

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This lady has a huge heart, always upbeat

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Going for understated classic/pretty/pink.

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Almost quit doing this one! Thought it was going to be easy just stitching around the batik flowers but it took forever and had to rip out my stitching around the big blue flower because the color of thread I initially used looked horrible. Once I finished though I was a lot happier with it and thought the back of it looked pretty neat.

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This is for a dear gal that I’ve worked with for over 16 years. It took me forever to figure out what I wanted to do for her. I really wanted to create something special for her that she would really like. She’s a Saskatchewan gal and it came to me to create a prairie sunset. I think in the end, this is my favorite.

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This is the one I did for the gal that will be taking over as manager. She loves to travel so I adapted a “snail’s tail” quilting pattern and used two contrasting starfish fabrics to create an ocean wave pattern. The contrasting black and white fabrics create a yin/yang design. I'm not sure if I like how did the quilting though....

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Holy smokes...those are lovely! Your co-workers will love them! Very nice gifts.

Very nice! I like those little birds, and the Saskatchewan sunset one the best.

Those are great. What a nice parting gift. Great way to try out quilting ideas.

They are amazing and beautiful!! Why are they called mug rugs?

They are beautiful! Love the colours and designs. Have a touch of nordic feel to me.

Wow, wow, wow! I wish I was one of your co-workers!! This forum is terrible...I am thinking I will have to take up quilting now!

My mouth is open in stunned awe! You are still a beginner quilter? LIAR!

Those little works reflect a skill, a confidence, a gifted eye with colour and shape, a refined hand with balance and depth.

This is your idea of 'not very experienced'? Pffft. Spare me. These are amazing and gorgeous!

Oh, I can hardly wait to see what you create in your retirement. You better post pics!

Absolutely beautiful!

Thank you everyone. And Uno, that is high praise from you. It encourages me. I was worrying out loud to my husband this morning that my coworkers may not like them and some may even end up in the trash bin. I think because I look at them and see all my mistakes. Honestly, I’m just learning. Other than a patchwork quilt I made out of odd fabric from my mom’s rag bag when I was about 18 and a couple tie quilts (no piecing) for babies in my 20's, I did not do any quilting up until just over a year ago. I only caught the quilting bug when my first grandbaby was on her way.

I think I’ve retained enough sewing knowledge from Home Ec way back in Junior High and the odd bit of sewing over the years to make a decent attempt at the sewing part of things and I’ve dabbled in various art forms and I think I have a pretty good eye for color, design, and balance. And I’m anal and stubborn. Oh, and most important, I am best friends with my seam ripper.

What you see here is the end result after seams have been ripped out and redone, pieces have been recut and resewn and bindings have ripped off and redone. My faux cathedral windows was almost pitched to the scrap heap because I was struggling so much with that stupid white fabric, don’t know what kind of fabric it was, but it was like working with parachute material. I finally got the white squares all nice and square and sewn on only to realize I should have flipped them the other way. So had to rip those all out and start again. The ocean wave one had a bit of a false start, I ended up having to recut and resew all the teeny tiny pieces in the middle again because my first attempt was pretty awful, nothing was lining up properly. I also had to redo the binding on that one as well. And on the sunset mug rug, that skinny little pink strip on the horizon was not part of the original design; it was because I shorted a piece. So then I had to adjust the other side LOL. And so on. Each one gave me a lesson to learn.

So yes, I am learning as I go. But I find I am really enjoying quilting as an art form and have built up quite a nice stash in the past year. I have banned myself from fabric stores until I have finished all the projects I have floating around in my head. I am definitely looking forward to having more time to enjoy this new hobby of mine. Thank you for all your kind comments.

they really are lovely. I like the sunset too, and the shabbychic - got a thing going with pink :-). if this is your beginning work I can't imagine what your more experienced stuff will be like. quite brilliant and inspiring, thanks.

Those are beautiful! What perfect parting gifts, straight from the heart. Your co-workers are going to miss you!! But I'm sure you'll find lots of ways to enjoy your retirement..including more quilting projects.

Your co workers will love your little quilts, they're gorgeous!

Great job!

I made mug rugs for Christmas

Lil'Farm, you make me laugh! So, you're not going to the fabric store until you've finished all your started projects? BA HA HA! If you're anything like the rest of us quilters, who also like to tell ourselves that little white lie so we don't feel wasteful, you will run through a closed door to get to the next fabric sale when you hear about it. Eventually you have a closet full of UFOs (Un Finished Obejcts).

About stashes....they can get out of control. I recently was trying to find a home for a collection of scraps and when someone said they would take them, I went a little crazy and started filling a boot box with all the fabric I had that never seemed to get put in any quilt. I purged. It felt good. My stash has now been re-organized, stacked according to colour, covered with a towel to keep the sun off, since direct sunlight is DEATH to fabric. I did a quick count. I have 139 different fabrics here. I buy fabric in 1 metre cuts, or more. (I am not a big fat quarter person, go big or go home is my fabric motto). So it is reasonable to say I have 139 metres of fabric. However, many of those cuts are 2 or 3 metres. So while I have 139 fabrics, I have substantially MORE than 139 metres. And here's the kicker, this stash, very easily in excess of 180 metres is considered a BABY stash by hardcore quilters! As stashes go, mine is a joke. So Lil'Farm, let this be a cautionary tale to you! THIS HABIT GETS OUT OF CONTROL! I have also sworn off fabric stores, but mostly because I have no more storage space!

I am truly inspired by your efforts, you have the gift, I can hardly wait to see what else you make!

Amazing work Lilfarm
I cannot believe that you have only been working on these for a few weeks. Your co-workers are indeed lucky souls. I particularly like the batiks..a passion of mine...batik
Great job! or jobs...thank you for sharing this art with us

I'm floored. These are fabulous! And to see such a range of patterns coming from the mind of a single artist really shows that you are speaking directly to your recipient - that you really know them.

I'm also looking forward to when you get "experienced". Wow.   

Those are great Lilfarm.

Wow!  So Cool!!    

Seeing your creations has cheered me up!  I absolutely love them!

uno wrote:Lil'Farm, you make me laugh! So, you're not going to the fabric store until you've finished all your started projects? BA HA HA!.

i laugh at myself! I bought this $150 gift card a year ago (Merry Christmas to me   ) and the perk was you got a free 1/2 metre every month. Well, I never came away with just a 1/2 metre. Good quality quilting fabric is a luscious, gorgeous temptress in a cotton weave that calls for you, no, BEGS for you to bring it home. So I will try. I will likely fail. But I will try.

Oh so note to self. .... Stay away from quilting. And fabric stores.
I really did love all of your work. My fav was the baltic flowers AMAZING! Even my hubby was in awe of your work.

they are indeed beautiful!   I am so in love with the sunrise one...really want to try that too.  I like how you quilted them so they look like more (narrower) strips.

no way is anyone going to dare to put their mug ring stains on those beauties!
oh yes that would be a dangerous club for sure...now if they mailed the fabric to you that would be one thing but going in every month...yikes!!