Saturday, March 17, 2018

Celebrate Quilting

It's National Quilting Day! Let's celebrate. Sew along with me and make this cute little mug quilt


You know I love making small projects and sometimes it's just the thing to get my creativity going. This little pinwheel block is left over from a different project (still unfinished, ugh.) and I decided to use it to make a mug quilt. Isn't it sweet? A mug quilt is something I'll always use and it's always nice to have a few extra lying around just in case. What fun to serve someone a cup of tea with a cute mug rug and see them smile and say "Oh, how cute!"  I am calling this "Whirlwind" because that's the name of the block and also my sewing room right now looks like a tornado hit it because I'm working on many things at once. I know most of you know exactly what I mean . . . .

To make this little project, cut -

2 squares, 2 7/8"  x  2 7/8" from a dark blue print
-        Cut each square once on the diagonal for 4 triangles
1 square, 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" from a pink print
-        Cut twice on the diagonal for 4 triangles
1 square, 3 1/4"  x 3 1/4" from a checked fabric
-        Cut twice on the diagonal for 4 triangles
2 squares, 3 3/4"  x 3 3/4" from a light print
-        Cut each square once on the diagonal for 4 triangles
2 strips, 2" x  6" from a medium blue print
1 rectangle  7"  x 10"  from a backing fabric 
1 strip, 1 1/4" wide, from a pink print for binding
7"  x  10"  piece of thin cotton batting

1.  Sew the pink and checked triangles together as shown.  Make four units like this.



2.  Sew each pink and checked unit together with a dark blue triangle. They finished units should measure 2 1/2".  Make four.



3.  Sew the four units together as shown, two at a time. Then, sew the two rows together, pinning the center as you stitch to make sure your points meet. Your block should measure 4 1/2".



4.  Add the light print triangles to the sides of the block.


5.  Sew the medium blue strips to the sides of your block.


6.  Layer the quilt top with batting and backing and then add the pink binding.  I like to use a 1 1/4" single-fold binding strip in my little quilts to avoid too much bulk.


There are all sorts of fun ways to honor your quilty self today - visit a quilt shop, teach someone to quilt, finish a UFO, organize your scraps. You get the idea. Hope whatever you do today involves at least a little bit of quilting.


                                             



8 comments:

Lee said...

Thank you for the tutorial! I love this mug rug and hope to get some fabric out tonight to make one!

Linda said...

Love the tutorial and thanks for all your creativity! Just love it! Today our guild had their quilt show, so celebrated in fine style here in St Louis this weekend! Best, Linda B

Jan N said...

So cute, thank you for sharing on this fine sewing day!

quiltgrannie said...

Thanks, Kathy, these are great fun and a quick gift to make for friends and yourself!!

Rosemary said...

I am addicted to making small things ... this is an adorable mug rug. Yours is bright, colorful and charming. Thank you for sharing!!

Swedish Scrapper said...

Such a perfect little project for an afternoon It's beautiful thanks for sharing your tips!

liz said...

Kathy: just going into my yahoo account. Thanks for the mug rug. I did have some friends over for a sew day. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Hi Kathy, Thanks for your books and wonderful free projects. I so enjoy them. Cleo

You can reach me at kwiltinkrazy@aol.com