Hopscotch....along!

Well, my decision has been made. After weeks and weeks of debate over which pattern I should use for my daughter's bed quilt, I have finally become so obsessed with one pattern in particular that it HAS to be the one I make for her.

This will be my first bed sized quilt ever and I am so excited to get the ball rolling on this one. I honestly found out about the pattern from my good friend over at Bijoux Baby who was showing me her next quilt design idea. After putting the finishing touches on the quilt top of the Swoon A Long group she joined here she decided to continue quilting along with this group. The group creator offered two choices of quilt patterns for the next quilt along.....The choices were patterns both created by the incredibly talented Camille Roskelley. She was deciding between On A Whim or Hopscotch.

Oh My Gosh, the minute I saw the Hopscotch quilt I was totally obsessed about that design. I love everything about this quilt....the equilateral triangle flip-flopped in rows and finally coming together to create a 6 pointed star in the middle of each "block".

But could I actually sew this quilt? Do I have the skills? Being fairly new to sewing and quilting, I had my doubts but nonetheless I jumped in and purchased my pattern and fabric and began planning.

I actually put my first triangle together a couple of days ago and am quite pleased with the end result.  I used some scrap fabric I had lying around so I would not damage my "good" fabric with my first block.  It did take some heavy starching of the fabric and a few ripped out seams to get the hang of sewing this thing together but I know once I get rolling with this pattern it will come together nicely.

I'm loving how this triangle turned out and I can't wait to see more of this come together over the next several weeks.

Stay tuned, more reports to come....and if you're so inspired to try your own Hopscotch quilt you can find the pattern here.

Have fun, be bold and Happy Sewing!

Mini Quilt Challenge.....My Mug Rug Entry

Yay!!  I finished my mug rug and now I'm posting my entry up to the Mini Quilt Challenge.



As you may have read in my previous post, this is my first attempt at a Mug Rug and my first time ever for Free Motion Quilting.  I decided to practice and practice to really make this Mug Rug something special.

One think I know for sure is I love when the idea in my mind translates perfectly to the design in my finished piece.  I'm including a few photos of progress along the way.

I had so much fun making this mini quilt and now I know I definitely need to try my hand at another mug rug.  This has been such a fun way to experiment and try my hand at something totally new.

I hope you enjoy my piece......

The beginning stages, paper-pieced branch
with hand appliqued blossoms

Sewing on the binding....I decided to go with the brighter
pink print I used for the larger blossoms.  I just loved the contrast!

My finished piece....ready for a cup of coffee and a snack!

A closeup on the quilting.  I added this little cherry to my
FMQ design.  I just love how this added to the overall
look of the finished piece!

Happy Sewing!!

My First Mug Rug.....

Okay, so what's a mug rug, you may be asking.  I actually had to figure that one out for myself as well.  Being new to quilting, I kept seeing swaps, pictures, and contests for these things called mug rugs.  But, what is a mug rug?  Well, to clarify for those who are not quite certain either a mug rug is a beautiful little hand made "coaster" for your coffee mug which is conveniently made large enough to also hold a small snack.  This idea is ingenious!  Whoever coined the terminology on this one and came up with the idea of a mini quilt for a coffee mug is truly gifted!

The best part about a mug rug, or at least in my opinion, is that it is small.  Why is being small so great?  There are a few reasons:

1 - You can complete is really quickly and get that immediate satisfaction of a finished project
2 - You can get rid of some scrap fabric on this project (since it is small it takes very little fabric)
3 - You can try something new, something more difficult or advanced because you aren't making a bed-size quilt out of the object you can really take your creativity to the limits!

Paper-pieced branches with
appliqued blossoms....not quite
done with the applique.

4 - You can show off your style, have a quick gift for a friend and give your coffee mug a boost!!

I thought I'd share some pics of my mug rug in process and once I'm done quilting and binding (which will be tomorrow) I'll post final, finished pics.

I tried some fun techniques with this mug rug.  I am making this for 2 purposes.  I am entering my mug rug in the Ellison Lane Mini Quilt Challenge and this is actually a mug rug for a swap group I am part of so this little gem will be going off to my swap partner (shhhhh, it's a secret).

I hope you like my mug rug and I hope this inspired you to make something special to remind you of spring every time you sit down for coffee and a snack!