Mug Rug Madness - Darci of Stitches & Scissors

Tutorial #11 - Darci's wonky starburst Mug Rug

The last tutorial for Mug Rug Madness is a fun and sunny one that's really easy to make. Wonkiness is a desired element in this one so if you're worried about precise points and lining things up this is the tutorial for you! Darci from Stitches&Scissors gave us a great tutorial with tons of pictures and makes it really easy to understand. I honestly could never choose, but this Mug Rug might just be my favorite from the whole series! ;]




Go visit Darci's blog to get the full tutorial and make sure to leave her lots of comment love!

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Mug Rug Madness is almost over -- today was going to be the last day but I am going to extend it through Sunday afternoon because I still have a few posts to share! So you'll have until Sunday, April 3rd at 2pm MST to enter the giveaway to feature one of the great Mug Rugs that was shown this week!

Mug Rug Madness - Jen of BettyCrockerAss

Tutorial #10 - Jen's space invaders Snack Mat

My friend Jen from Bettycrockerass is not only an insanely creative sewist, she's got such a sweet spirit to boot. She'll kill me for saying that, but it's true! She brought us a tutorial today for a more "manly" Mug Rug - although she refuses to call them that and prefers the term Snack Mat instead. Whatever you want to call it, her space invaders Mug Rug is definitely going to please any guy in your life who might need a little quilty love (even though they'd never admit it!).


(credit: bettycrockerass)


Go visit Jen's blog to get the full tutorial and make sure to leaver her some comment love too!

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Mug Rug Madness is only going on for a few more days! Visit the static page to make sure you haven't missed out on any of the great posts!

Mug Rug Madness - Terri of Sew Fantastic

Tutorial #9 - Terri's scrappy color block Mug Rug

Next up is Terri from the blog Sew-Fantastic who has an amazing tutorial for us today ... how did she know that rectangles in quilting and things in Rainbow order were 2 of my very favorite things? I wish this adorable Mug Rug could come to live at my house!


(photo credit: Sew-Fantastic)

Go visit Terri's blog to get the full tutorial and make sure to leave her lots of comment love!

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Remember to leave a comment on the official giveaway post here for a chance to win some of the gorgeous Mug Rug's we're featuring this week.

And if you've already made a Mug Rug from one of the tutorials featured this week, make sure to go join and post it in the Mug Rug Madness group on Flickr!

Also if you've missed any of the posts from Mug Rug Madness, you can always visit the static page here where they're all listed, and I keep updating daily! :]

Mug Rug Madness - Penny of Sew Take a Hike

Tutorial #8 - Penny's under the umbrella Mug Rug

Looking out my window right now it's drizzly and starting to snow so this Mug Rug tutorial from Penny at Sew Take a Hike couldn't have come on a better day. Although where outside my window it's grey and ugly her little umbrella is cheerful and happy and almost makes the thought of tromping through a spring storm lots of fun. This little Mug Rug is perfect for spring and is fairly simple to make - don't let those curved seams scare you! Penny explains it great and links to another tutorial she did all about curved seams!


(photo credit: sewtakeahike)

Go visit Penny's blog to get the full tutorial and make sure to leave her lots of comment love!

Mug Rug Madness - halfway recap

So we're about halfway through Mug Rug Madness - have you been liking it so far? I'm probably a little bit biased but I think that the tutorials that have been featured this last week have all been AMAZING! Here's a wrap up of last week and remember, the fun continues this week with more original tutorials & informative posts coming through Friday, April 1st!

Mug Rug Madness tutorials so far: (click on the photos to be taken to the guest poster's blog & tutorial, and remember to leave them lots of comment love!)















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Remember to leave a comment on the official giveaway post here for a chance to win some of the gorgeous Mug Rug's we're featuring this week.

And if you've already made a Mug Rug from one of the tutorials featured this week, make sure to go join and post it in the Mug Rug Madness group on Flickr!

Also if you've missed any of the posts from Mug Rug Madness, you can always visit the static page here where they're all listed, and I keep updating daily! :]

Mug Rug Madness - Amanda of Mrs McPorkchop Quilts

Tutorial #7 - Amanda's traditional star Mug Rug

Next up for an original Mug Rug Madness tutorial is my friend Amanda from Mrs McPorkchop Quilts. Amanda is someone that is so confident in her sewing and quilting choices that everything she makes turns out gorgeous. She has a knack for making traditional blocks seem modern with her colors and fabrics, as is evident in this perfect Mug Rug she made using a traditional block called Christmas Star II. I love how this one turned out!


(photo credit: mrsmcporkchop)

Go visit Amanda's blog to get the full reveal & tutorial and leave her lots of comment love, too. All these girls put so much time and effort into making these free tutorials for you! :]

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Have you been making any Mug Rugs yet? Go put your pictures in the Mug Rug Madness Flickr pool so we can all see them!

Mug Rug Madness - Andrea of Knitty Bitties

Tutorial #6 - Andrea's spring kite Mug Rug

One of the best things about Mug Rugs is that they're so relatively simple and quick to make (once you get used to their small size!) that you can start making them for every holiday and season. I've seen some super fun Christmas, Halloween and even Thanksgiving Mug Rugs and today my friend Andrea from Knitty Bitties is sharing a tutorial for a Mug Rug that is perfect for those windy days of March as well as the impending Spring season. This kite is such a cute addition to a Mug Rug and her tutorial is excellent at showing you the easy steps you need to do to make one for yourself. She even shows you a great way of doing a "cheater binding" (which there's nothing wrong with!) for those of you that have been struggling with the small bindings.


(photo credit: Knitty Bitties)

Go visit Andrea's blog to get the full tutorial and remember to leave her lots of comment love, too!

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Make sure to leave a comment on the official giveaway post here for a chance to win some of the gorgeous Mug Rugs we're featuring this week.

Have you gone over to Flickr yet to look at the Mug Rug Madness group? Lots of great pictures there of the cute Mug Rugs people have been making!

Also if you've missed any of the posts from Mug Rug Madness, you can always visit the static page here where they're all listed, and I keep updating daily! :]

Mug Rug Madness - the WHEN of Mug Rugs

Last time I talked about the WHAT of Mug Rugs .... today I wanted to show you WHEN exactly a Mug Rug can be used in your house. To do that, I get to show off my fun little collection of Mug Rug's I've amassed and tell you where they live in my house - some of the ways I use them might surprise you!

I made myself this one. Katie Jump Rope is my very favorite fabric line and it makes me happy every time I look at it.  It currently lives with my laptop, because I use it as a traveling mousepad for my wireless mouse. That way I can be on the laptop on the couch or on the floor with my boys and still have a smooth place to be able to use my mouse. (I hate trackpads).




This cute puppy was made for me by John / Quilt Dad for a private Twitter Mug Rug swap. I love the bunny and the decorative stitching on it! It currently lives underneath the lamp in my sewing room.

This awesome one was made for me by Brooke / April Two Eighty in the Spicing Up The Kitchen swap on Flickr. It's currently my favorite Mug Rug in the house, so it's hung up in my sewing room on the wall by my other mini-quilts.

I also made myself this one. It's in the same colors as the Sewing Summit logo and it's on my computer desk to hold my diet Cokes that I'm drinking at midnight while I'm up working on Sewing Summit stuff. Perfect. :]

Brenda made me this one in a swap on Flickr. I love the pieced apple and the fabrics she used. Plus the stitching is amazing! It currently lives on my kitchen counter underneath my Scentsy candle burner thingy.

This one was made for me by Ryan / I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts also from a Twitter swap. I looove the aqua and red Bliss, and this one is often-used in my house as it sits on a side table in my family room for drinks and sippy cups. This one also has the lead role in it's own Mug Rug tutorial on Ryan's blog!

Sue made me this one, again from a private swap set up on Twitter. I told her I loved blues and greens and she knocked it out of the park! She was also super smart and did the turn-and-topstitch method so she didnt' have to mess with a teensy and sometimes frustrating binding. This one lives in my sewing room to hold my drinks and treats for when I'm working.

I hope this gives you some ideas on how you can use Mug Rugs in your house - other than the obvious to hold your hot or cold drink & a treat! I have really found their size to be perfect for so many things when a coaster is just too small and a placemat or table runner too big.  Plus they're just such fun little pops of design and color.

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If you're making any Mug Rugs from the tutorials featured this week, make sure to add them to the Mug Rug Madness Flickr group so we can all see them!

Also, if you haven't entered in the giveaway yet, go to the official giveaway post and leave a comment for a chance to win any of the fantastic Mug Rugs being featured this week on the Tutorial Posts.

See you in the morning with a GREAT tutorial from the Queen of Mug Rug's herself! ;]

Mug Rug Madness - Heather of House of A La Mode

Tutorial #5 - Heather's Grandmothers Flower Garden Mug Rug

Have you caught the hexagon bug yet? If you've been intimidated by these tiny little hand-pieced puppies, trust me, they're not near as hard as they seem! My sassy friend Heather has put together two tutorials for us this week for the Madness, yesterday she posted a hand-piecing hexagons tutorial and today shows us how put them together on a cute little hexie-flower coaster.


(photo credit: { House } of A La Mode)

Go visit Heather's blog to get the full tutorials, and make sure to leave her lots of comment love, too!

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Remember to leave a comment on the official giveaway post here for a chance to win some of the gorgeous Mug Rug's we're featuring this week.

And if you've already made a Mug Rug from one of the tutorials featured this week, make sure to go join and post it in the Mug Rug Madness group on Flickr!

Also if you've missed any of the posts from Mug Rug Madness, you can always visit the static page here where they're all listed, and I keep updating daily! :]

Mug Rug Madness - Jeni of In Color Order

Tutorial #4 - Jeni's scrappy stack Mug Rug

Sticking with the theme of "simple Mug Rugs" from yesterday's gallery, the next tutorial in our series is this simple and beautiful scrappy Mug Rug from my friend Jeni of In Color Order. Jeni's tutorial is easy and straightforward - and you've got to love anyone that recommends "press your seams anyway you'd like!" ;] I bet if you sat down to sew this little Mug Rug right now you'd have it done in just an hour or so! It might take you more time to figure out which of your beloved scraps you're going to sew with!



Go visit Jeni's blog for the tutorial and leave her lots of comment love, too!

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Remember to leave a comment on the official giveaway post here for a chance to win some of the gorgeous Mug Rug's we're featuring this week.

And if you've already made a Mug Rug from one of the tutorials featured this week, make sure to go join and post it in the Mug Rug Madness group on Flickr!

Also if you've missed any of the posts from Mug Rug Madness, you can always visit the static page here where they're all listed, and I keep updating daily! :]

Mug Rug Madness - simple Mug Rugs

There are SO many amazing Mug Rugs out there, I'm taking a few posts during Mug Rug Madness to highlight a few of my favorites. If you've got some time to kill, go browse the pools of the Scrappy Mug Rug swap, the Mug Rug Madness pool, or just search for the term "Mug Rug" on Flickr (that search itself brings up over 6000 results!).

Today I'm featuring some of my favorite "simple" mug rugs. You can click on each of the pictures to be taken to their page on Flickr where you can leave them some comment love, if you'd like! ;]



(photo credit: FashionedbyMeg)


(photo credit: Mary1602)


(photo credit: JenNewby71)


(photo credit: 2mayboys)


(photo credit: Wendymoon Designs, Mug Rug made by: SewKellySews)


(photo credit: nova)


(photo credit: snowonturtles)


(photo credit: i like orange too)


(photo credit: BrianaArlene)


Remember to leave a comment on the official giveaway post for a chance to win some of the Mug Rug's featured this week. And you can always visit the Mug Rug Madness static page to make sure you haven't missed out on any of our posts!

Mug Rug Madness - Meg of Fashioned by Meg

Mug Rug Madness tutorial #3 - Meg's adorable cottage Mug Rug

Remember yesterday I said that I'd seen some lovely Mug Rugs in shapes other than rectangular? Here's a perfect example: my friend Meg came up with the cutest Zakka-inspired cottage mug rug. These little houses are the perfect way to try out embellishing your Mug Rugs .... I can see tons of different variations with thread, lace, fussy cut fabric and fancy stitches! Megs examples are so cute, I'm dying with the sweetness!


(photo credit: FashionedbyMeg on Flickr)

Go visit Meg's blog to see how she put these little cuties together and leave her lots of comment love, too!

Remember to leave a comment on the official giveaway post here for a chance to win some of the gorgeous Mug Rug's we're featuring this week.

And if you've already made a Mug Rug from one of the tutorials featured this week, make sure to go join and post it in the Mug Rug Madness group on Flickr!

Mug Rug Madness - the WHAT of Mug Rugs

So to round out all the pretty Mug Rug tutorials and pictures, my informative posts here for the Madness are going to revolve around the Who, What, When, Where and Why of all things Mug Rug related. I'm starting off today with WHAT -- as in, what the what IS a Mug Rug, after all?



(photo credit: mrsmcporkchop on Flickr)


Could this be the Mug Rug that started it all? I personally think so. Sure, we've all been making table runners, placemats, even coasters forever now, but way back in March 2010 Amanda posted this darling picture of some flying geese nestled in some Kona Ash and dubbed it a Mug Rug.



(photo credit: mrsmcporkchop on Flickr)


Not too long after, she posted this adorable number and suddenly we had a full on CRAZE in the modern sewing community. A mini quilt? That was fast and easy to create? Where it was acceptable, even encouraged to place crumbly baked goods upon? We. were. hooked!

So really, WHAT is a Mug Rug? To me it's simple - a mini quilt that is usually between the size of a coaster and a placemat, which turns out to be just the perfect size for a cup of whatever you're drinking and a little treat beside it.




(photo credit: imjustaguywhoquilts on Flickr)


There's no standards, really, when it comes to creating Mug Rugs. Cut into your most prized Flea Market Fancy stash, or scrounge up some scraps from your sewing room floor. Usually they're rectangle (but not always) and mostly fall in between the sizes of 4"x6"-ish to 6"x10"-ish. Although I've seen some really awesome circle, hexagon and other non-traditionally shaped Mug Rugs that are lovely.  And if you end up making one too big, like I did, just follow my lead and give it a swift chop in half and you'll have two!




Make it simple - use the super fast and easy Quilt As You Go method. Make it complicated - hand piecing hexagons, anyone? Are you sensing a theme here? The BEST thing about Mug Rugs is that they're whatever YOU want them to be.

So, to recap:

What is a Mug Rug?  A small, fun to create, mini quilt that is mostly there to look pretty on your desk and soak up your drink of choice's drips and condensation, as well as giving you full-on permission to eat some cookies, since, well, that extra space off to the side of your drink is just THERE for you to use.

How big is a Mug Rug?  As big as you want it to be, usually falling somewhere in between the usual size of a coaster and a placemat.  4"x6"-ish to 6"x10"-ish.  Can you tell I'm pretty non-committal about these things? ;]

How do I make a Mug Rug?  Just like you were making a mini quilt!  Is that answer not satisfying enough?  Keep checking back for new original tutorials all this week, and also my WHERE and WHO posts later in the series for some more links and information.

Remember to leave a comment on the official giveaway post for a chance to win some of the Mug Rug's featured this week. And you can always visit the Mug Rug Madness static page to make sure you haven't missed out on any of our posts!

Mug Rug Madness - Angela of Fussycut

Mug Rug Madness Tutorial #2: Angela's Bright Selvage Mug Rug

There are some blogs that I just refuse to read in an RSS reader because they're just too pretty and colorful and cheerful to NOT read "in person" (or with that nifty "Next" button in Google Reader). Angela's blog, Fussy Cut, is one of those that I just have to see for myself because she's always got the prettiest pictures and brightest projects. And of course the Mug Rug she created for Mug Rug Madness wouldn't be anything less!


(photo credit: Angela - Fussy Cut)

Go visit Angela's blog to see what she did with this gorgeous pile of scraps and leave her lots of comment love, too!

Remember to leave a comment on the official giveaway post here for a chance to win some of the gorgeous Mug Rug's we're featuring this week.

Coming up later this afternoon: the WHAT of Mug Rug's. ;]

Mug Rug Madness - Nova of A Cuppa & A Catchup

Surely you are all familiar with Miss Nova's lovely blog - A Cuppa & A Catch Up ... she is probably my very favorite English-turned-Aussie girl and her blog is an inspiring place of pretty pictures and amazing hand stitching.

Mug Rug Madness Tutorial #1: Nova's "Time For Tea" double sided Mug Rug



I was thrilled when she said she'd join in the fun of this week and I knew she'd come up with something amazing! I had a hunch she might bring in the "tea" element and I was right. :]




Go visit Nova's blog to see how she cleverly put together this double sided Mug Rug and give her lots of comment love!

Remember to leave a comment on the official giveaway post for a chance to win this mug rug as well as some of the other ones featured this week!

Mug Rug Madness is here! - giveaway post

I am so excited to get this thing kicked off! I have had Mug Rugs on the brain constantly for the past few weeks and have got so much great stuff to share with you. There are going to be LOTS of posts - every day for the next 10 days I'll have two posts here at Two More Seconds - one that will be directing you to the featured tutorial of the day's blog - and one that will be an informative post - the who, what, where, when and why of Mug Rugs! :]



There will be LOTS of information but every Mug Rug Madness post will be added to the official Mug Rug Madness static page at my blog here, so you don't have to worry about missing anything.

This post will serve as the official GIVEAWAY post. Just post ONE comment on THIS entry for a chance to win one of the awesome Mug Rugs that will be featured this week. Most of my guest posters have generously offered up their beautiful creations as prizes and trust me, they are all amazing! On April 1st I'll do a wrap-up blog and post the winners. (Just leave one comment, comments are moderated so it won't show up right away, but I promise it will be there!)

Also if you're on Flickr go join the Mug Rug Madness Flickr group here. We want to see pictures of all the Mug Rug's you've made already or when you make some out of the wonderful tutorials that are coming this week. I'll be featuring some of your pictures and blog posts out of the Flickr group this week in the Madness!

I'll be back later this afternoon with the introduction to the first tutorial - here's a little sneak peek to what's in store:



Thank's SO much for joining in on the fun!

comments are closed, this giveaway has ended

Mug Rug Madness starts on Monday!

I've been gearing up for Mug Rug Madness all week and can I just say - we are all in for a TREAT! As I previously said March 21st - 31st is going to be Mug Rug Madness on my blog! 11 days of all Mug Rugs - all the time. :] I have rounded up 11 of my awesome sewist friends to put together brand new original tutorials for you and I will have instructional posts - informative posts - and links on the who, what, when, where and why of Mug Rugs. And it wouldn't be MADNESS without a giveaway or two (or ten!), right?



Here's a few sneak peeks of some of the goodness that is to come, and make sure that you follow my blog through Google Friend Connect or your own RSS reader so you don't miss any of the posts (there's going to be a post every single day, and most days will have two posts!)


(photo credit: JeniB)


(photo credit: mrsmcporkchop)


(photo credit: stitches&scissors)


(photo credit: Fussy Cut)


(photo credit: Sew Take A Hike)

There's also a new Mug Rug Madness group on Flickr - feel free to join and start posting any pictures of mug rug's you make - for yourself - for a gift - for a swap - or any of the tutorials that go up next week. I'll be choosing great pictures from the Flickr group to feature on my site.

Can't wait until Monday!

Blogging the Process : my 3x6 bee blocks

One thing I'd like to start doing more is doing some Blogging the Process posts. So often you just see blogs with pretty pictures of finished items, but for me, I like it when they dig deeper and SHOW and TELL me what went into creating an item. Sometimes they'll be kind of like tutorials, with step by step instructions, but sometimes it will just be how I picked the fabrics, how I decided on an idea, etc. Just the process. So much of what I enjoy about sewing is the process, anyways, it makes sense to talk about it more.

There's even a whole movement to get people started talking more about the process of creating - the Process Pledge.




I am in a Virtual Quilting Bee called the 3x6 bee. Every quarter out of the year I'm paired up with 6 other sewists from around the world - we all specify to each other a color scheme we'd like to have, and then everyone picks ONE block style, making that specific block 6 different times, in each of the other members chosen color scheme. Make sense? The colors that I chose are aqua / green / white. So at the end of the quarter, I'll receive 6 different quilt blocks from my bee members, they'll all be different STYLES of blocks, but they'll all be made out of aqua / green / white fabrics. So they'll tie together without being identical. Cool idea, huh?





So when it came to making my blocks for my bee members, it started out when I fell in love with this quilt and these blocks that Melanie at Texas Freckles came up with.



(photo credit: texas freckles)

Aren't they pretty?! And then a few weeks ago I was watching some quilting tutorials on You Tube and remembered this video of a method of making half-square triangles, and I knew it would work to make these scrappy versions, too. This is what I did:

Gathered a bunch of strips that were about 8 inches long and between 1 and 2 inches wide.




Sewed the strips together until they were approximately as wide as they were tall (mine were about 8 inches square, but they could be bigger or smaller, doesn't matter much)




Trimmed the blocks up so they were the same size as each other (mine were about 7.5" squares at this point). Lay the blocks right sides facing, with one block's strips horizontal and one block's strips vertical.




I am not usually a pinner, but it really helps on this block. I pinned a few of the sides and then starting at one corner of the block, sewed around the entire perimeter of the block with 1/4" seam allowance, all the way back until I met up with my starting point. Yes, you basically sew the block together at this point!



Now the magic! Use the diagonal lines on either your ruler or your cutting mat to cut the blocks twice on the diagonal from corner to corner. This is what it will look like after you make the cuts:




And then after you flip open the blocks:




Isn't that cool? And so quick! Now just trim up the 4 smaller blocks and figure out which way to arrange them. You can get lots of different looks by changing the direction the diagonals lay. This is what I decided on:




And then I just brought it up to the required 12.5" square block size by adding white on the outsides.




This bee member had requested red / aqua / white for her block colors - didn't it turn out pretty! Let me know if you try out this method of making this block!