Mug Rug Swap

One of the perks of being in a quilt guild such as the Lakeland Modern Quilt Guild are the cool projects.  We recently mailed off our mug rugs all the way to Canada!  I can't wait to hear from them. 

What did I make, you ask?  A caffeine mug rug!  Inspired by the cover of Quilt Lab, I decided to put my own spin on it.  Why a caffeine molecule?  For those of you that don't know me, I hold a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from the University of South Florida.  Do I use it?  Nah.  I'm a lawyer, after all.  I'm just fascinated by all things science-related.


Anyhow, Ms. Winston does a pieced molecule, but I'm far more comfortable with applique at this point, so I tried out a brand new (to me) applique method that I learned here.  Angela uses a fusible interfacing, but I opted to use Pellon Wonder Web for mine.  That means I had to be super careful when turning the shapes, because it is super delicate, but I like that it adds minimal weight to the design. 

I appliqued the "body" using the new turned method, and appliqued the "dots" with paper-backed fusible web the traditional way.  I blanket stitched the circles by hand with embroidery thread.  I also embroidered a running stitch by hand around the "body" of the molecule.  While it isn't necessary to secure the pieces, I thought it added a nice touch. 

 

 

I didn't want to bother with binding (coupled with the fact that I appliqued too close to the edge!), so I turned the mug rug and topstitched around the edge in a contrasting pink.  I hand quilted around the shape with perle cotton.  

Sorry about the picture quality!  It looked much better on the camera screen, I promise!

 

 

I used linen as the background, which gave it a more modern feel in my opinion.  I embroidered a little label on the background to add even more of a handmade touch.  

 

 

It's far from perfect, but not too bad for my very first attempt at a mug rug.  I really had a good time making it and cannot wait to see what our Canadian counterparts have in store for us!