April Showers: A Mug Rug Hop

Coming to you bright and early on Day 3.  Let me start by saying, "Thank you!" to Madame Samm and Erin for organizing and cheering us all through April Showers.

I've been so excited for this hop!  My little valley in Oregon is quite rainy throughout the year, so I'm definitely feeling the spirit of April Showers :)  I immediately knew what I wanted to do this time around, and I didn't wait 'till the last minute, either--I'm SO proud of myself.  Mug rugs are almost-instant gratification for me.  Plus, their size gives me the freedom to experiment without worrying about messing up.

This first mug rug is made from left-over squares from Samantha's memory quilt.  The greens remind me of a beautiful day in the woods.  I love that the rain bring such lush greens year-round to my little corner of Oregon.  I wanted to practice some orange peel FMQ and the 2" squares seemed like just the right size to do that on on my machine.  I'm quickly learning that the smaller scale designs work much better on my little machine.  Even with gloves, I have control issues moving the fabric in larger patterns.  I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

The second one I totally love!  I had a picture in my head that evolved as I looked at pictures online.  I knew I wanted to do a plumeria bloom, but had no idea how.

Then, one day while skipping around on various blogs, I saw some gorgeous raw-edge applique--not flowers, but when I saw the effect, I knew that's what I wanted to try. (I wish I could find it again, but I have no idea how I got there ...)  I found a plumeria sketch online that I liked and adapted it.  Wonder-under held the pieces in place while I stitched.  After quite a bit of experimenting, I decided I liked the regular old sewing machine foot and straight stitch much better than the darning foot for the applique work.

I wasn't sure how to quilt it until I saw this trapunto tutorial.  I've never tried trapunto before, but I LOVE the effect.  It was surprisingly easy--time consuming--but easy.  I used some of Leah Day's suggestions for FMQ and did micro-stippling around the background.  I totally love this!  Don't know how practical it is to have the trapunto in the middle of a mug rug, but it makes me smile every time I see it and touch it.

Hope you enjoyed a little eye candy ... I certainly had fun playing with my new mug rugs and my camera :)
Be sure to stop by and share the love with the rest of these talented ladies today:

Hayley @ Mrs. Pickles

Karen @ Sew Much 2 Luv

Melanie @ Les Passions de Cliodana

Cincy @ Quilt Doodle Doodles

Jamie @ Busy Bee Quilts

Judy @ That Other Blog

Regena @ The Distracted Domestic

Amy @ Domesticity and Other Ponderous Things

Denise @ My Whittle Adventures

Heather @ A Reformed Heath'n (YAY, you're here!)

Marica @ ~Englating~

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope to see you back soon :) Linking up to the CSI project.