Christmas Ticker Tape Mug Rug

Have you ever seen a pattern that just begs you to make it?

That happened to me, the moment I first saw

The Patchsmith's design for

the Ticker Tape Mug Rug!

{So many of Amanda's patterns call out to me, that I have trouble keeping up with them.}

Ticker Tape Mug Rug by The Patchsmith

I turned to the Ticker Tape mug rug pattern

this month, as I made my monthly Christmas project.

I was inspired by the red holiday version that Amanda created.

Here's my interpretation, using my Cherry Christmas bundle!

I drew a sketch for a similar mug rug in my sewing journal,

but unlike The Patchsmith,

I had never executed the idea into an actual design.

What a pleasure it was to just follow

the most excellent instructions

and wind up with THE cutest holiday mug rug ever!

Do you notice the one deviation from the pattern?
I added the big red appliqued bow to the main square,

so it would look like a Christmas present!

I was inspired by this Tiny Treasures pattern

from Pieces From My Heart,

using the little teeny Moda candy squares,

which I also have on my {long} list of

patterns that are begging to be made.

Tiny Treasures pattern by Sandy Gervais

In no time I was finished creating this festive

and functional mini quilt.

Instead of blanket stitching,

I chose to straight-stitch

along the raw edges of each block,

with a stitch length shortened one notch to a 2.0.

Perfect tension made it look

just as good on the back as the front!

All of the mug rugs I make are reversible.

I chose a favorite print from Cherry Christmas

for the backing.

Those are Santa's clothes hanging out to dry.

I love using Pellon 987F fusible fleece, 

so that the mug rug is smooth and flat.

No spilled cocoa from a lumpy surface!

I used my own free Machine Binding Tutorial,

found here, to finish the edges with

my favorite aqua holly print.

{Sigh...}

Wouldn't this make a lovely Christmas present?

Sorry...this one's mine to keep. 

I could be coaxed into making more, though! 

More Zippy Pouches and A Pretty Package

I'm still having fun with this month's

Across The Pond Sew Along theme...

I just LOVE that tutorial for the

Easy Zippy Pouch, from Dog Under My Desk!

Do you remember the first one I made?

I couldn't stop at making just one of these pouches.
It was too much fun to choose fabrics and zippers!

Here's a sharp little number using red, black and white fabrics,
with a splashy red zipper.
The outer print is Zen Blossoms from Michael Miller.

Inside is a Half Moon Modern print by Moda.

I love the little mini lobster clasp.
You could clip this pouch to a key ring or a backpack.

I had an irresistible craving to make a pouch
that used a tangy orange zipper...
I chose two coordinates from Joel Dewberry's Heirloom line.

Awesome!

I really love the soft turquoise and maize tones,
contrasting with the brighter orange.

How about those diamond quilted designs?
They were surprisingly easy to execute,
using masking tape to guide my stitching.

It just so happens that
my son needed a special gift-wrap
for a certain special young lady's birthday present.
I offered to jazz up the jewelry box.

{Before...a pretty embossed lid, but kind of plain.}

{After...much more interesting!}

I used a tutorial by A Spoonful of Sugar blog
adding just a bit more batting in the lid.
I wanted to cover the base as well,
but the fit was too tight after I decorated the lid!

This box just called out for a matching zippy pouch,
don't you agree?

I used random chevrons, stitched vertically,
for the quilting on this one.
The fabric on the exterior is Simply Color
by V and Co. for Moda.

Inside is another one of my favorites...
Cufflinks in Turquoise from Summer Soiree
by Paula Prass.

So fresh and pretty - just right for the lovely young lady!

Keep an eye open for some of these zippy pouches to appear
in my shop on Etsy, eamylove!

Pin It Blog Hop - Thoughtful Pincushions

Today's the day!

It's my turn for the Pin It Pincushion Blog Hop!

Special thanks to Madame Samm and Kristen from Meadowbrook

for cheering us on, as we finish the hop today.

I thought and thought about what sort of pincushion

to make for my stop on the blog hop...

until I came up with my Thoughtful Pincushions.

For quite a while now,

I've had a wonderful piece of fabric from Susan Branch's

Martha's Vineyard fabric line,

printed with all sorts of little quotes and sayings.

{I used a bit of it for my zakka pot holders last year.}

I took some time to fussy cut all of the

sentiments into little squares and rectangles.

I chose my most favorite one,

about rainy days, and decided to turn it into

a lovely pincushion to keep for myself.

It was fun and easy to add some little bright scraps

and a frame of fabric.

I used a fun stripe for the backing and added my label.

I plumped it up with plenty of polyfil,

and I love love love how it turned out!

Once it was finished,

I couldn't wait to make more of them!

Here's one I just knew my sister Susie

would love.

{Hop on over to Susie's Sunroom today and see her Pin It pincushions, too!  

They are berry berry sweet!}

"When you come right down to it, the secret of having it all is believing that you do."

I love the polka dots with the little button print and the 30's style

floral fabric on the back.

Even if you don't have this hard-to-find panel

of sweet sayings,

text prints lend themselves nicely to pincushions.

Here's one I made from some cooking themed fabrics.

As I worked with the various little thoughts,

many friends and family members came to my mind.

I know some of my favorite sewists will enjoy

a little something I've made especially for them.

My mom thinks I should keep this one for myself, too!

{tee hee}

"Housework, when done correctly, can kill you."

I wonder who could find these tucked inside their Christmas boxes?

In just a bit of leisure time, I made

this whole collection of bright and happy pincushions.

Don't you think they will make thoughtful presents?
What a great way to let someone special know you are thinking of her.

If you liked these pincushions,
you might be glad to know I've made many different kinds of pinnies!
You can find more in this post,
as well as in lots of other posts from the past on my blog.

Check out all of these blogs, too, 
for more great pinnie inspiration today!

September 17
Life in the Scrapatch
Why-Knot-Kwilt
Amy Made That...by eamylove --- You Are Here!
Michelle's Romantic Tangle
Quiltscapes
Kwilty Pleasures
Words and Stitches
Val's Quilting Studio
Les Quilts
Sew Peace to Peace
Bumbleberry Stitches
Susie's Sunroom
Quilts From My Crayon Box
Quarter Incher
I Like to QuiltBlog
Just Quilt It
Sew We Quilt

Zippy Little Pouches for Across The Pond Sew Along

Thirty days hath September...

and half of them are past already!

Time to get busy on this month's theme for 

the Across The Pond Sew Along!

The Patchsmith's choice

for September was Key-Ring Pouches.

Amanda, The Patchsmith gave some suggestions

for making super-cute and functional

key-ring pouches using free tutorials from Erin

of Dog Under My Desk blog.

Little did Amanda know that I had already

made a few of these cute little

Earbud Pouches, using Erin's free pattern!

 I gave away two of them, without taking photos,

but here's the one I kept for myself.

It's very small, but I can actually even fit a jumpdrive

and an SD card in there, too.

It matches my Aviary 2 set of bags and pouches

that I made for myself last year.

The tote bag was made from my own PDF pattern

for the Anita Vacation Tote Bag.

I clipped my earbud pouch onto my tablet cover,

which was made using my own PDF pattern

for a Linen Pocket Ereader Cover.

{I used a coordinating print instead of linen this time, and I added a skinny strap.}

These earbud pouches are fun to make

and would be great gifts for teens, too!

I had a bit of free time today for sewing,

and in about an hour, I had already completed

my first Easy Zippy Pouch,

also from the Dog Under My Desk blog.

Amanda's version was tiny and sweet,

just large enough for some essentials like some

cash and a credit card.

Amanda's key-ring pouch...just adorable inside and out!

I decided to super-size my pouch...

so I can hold my cell phone, some money,

and maybe even a few more small items.

{My finished pouch measures 5" x 6 1/2".}

I chose two prints from Denyse Schmidt's fabric made for JoAnn.

The colors are really soft and pretty...gray and turquoise,

with just a touch of navy blue.

I don't usually quilt the fabrics for my bags and pouches,

but as the tutorial recommended,

I stitched some free-form zigzags...

and I am really pleased with the finished effect!

For such a simple tutorial,

the details make it look impressive!

A bright turquoise zipper really adds some zing.

I used a tiny lobster clasp instead of a plain D-ring,

and I can clip my keys on and off easily to this pouch.

It's so important to make little pouches pretty on the inside.

I really love the texture that the quilting adds!

{There's my little label, properly positioned.  Believe me when I say, that took a lot of thought!}

I'm going to make more of these cute little pouches

as soon as possible.

It will be fun to go through my zipper stash

and use some of the show-offs I've been saving!