Mug Rugs from Pam

Posted on May 25, 2014 by madewithcotton

I received the beautiful mug rugs from my swap partner Pam a few days ago, which made their way safely to Singapore from USA! It was so exciting to receive the mug rugs, and boy was I amazed when I opened the package to see loads of other goodies which Pam sent over! There were two packs of Hannah Montana fabric squares, one pack of charm squares from my favourite Figtree Quilts collection “Gypsy Rose” and a notepad with a pen. It was so sweet and thoughtful of her. God does wonderful things connecting two people from miles away. It’s just so amazing how Pam even knows I’m a fan of Figtree Quilts!

I love the colour combinations, so pastel and very suitable for spring. Pam’s workmanship and quilting skills are just excellent, from the way little details like the small butterfly and lines on the basket are sewn.

Mug rugs and goodies from Pam

Springtime mug rugs from Pam

Growing flowers mug rug

Flower basket mug rug

I love how she used embroidery to sew the quilt label, so professionally and uniquely done!

Quilt Labels

This is my best swap so far, as the previous two didn’t turn out very well. Very glad to know a new friend from this swap! I hope she receives my mug rugs soon, and will like what I’ve made for her.

Springtime Mug Rugs are Completed

Posted on May 24, 2014 by madewithcotton

After working on the mug rugs for a few weeks, they are finally completed! I hope I had more time to work on them though and improve on the colour combinations. It’s a pity I was really ill over the past few weeks and had to cope with the children’s exams at the same time, and could not dedicate more time and efforts into making better ones. In addition, I had to meet the deadline of shipping the mug rugs over by 13 May.

Check out the mug rugs which I sent to my swap partner Pam from USA early this week. I’ve just received the beautiful mug rugs she made for me with loads of goodies, which I’ll share in my next blog post. Hope she’ll receive my mug rugs soon.

The Springtime Mug Rugs are completed

Growing Flowers Mug Rug

Flower Basket Mug Rug

Quilt label for Growing Flowers Mug Rug

Quilt label for Flower Basket Mug Rug

I also spent some time to sew a cardholder for Pam. I hope she likes it!

A little goodie for Pam – namecard holder

Progress of Mug Rug Swap

Posted on May 13, 2014 by madewithcotton

My progress wasn’t as fast as expected for the two mug rugs as I’ve been ill since last week and was suffering from back pain, which doesn’t allow me to sew for long periods. Having to cope with tutoring the kids for their mid-year exams didn’t help too.

I’m however working on the hand appliques for the Flower Basket Mug Rug top now, as I’ve completed the Growing Flowers Mug Rug top last week. What’s left is actually to quilt and bind the mug rug.

I’ve unfortunately missed the deadline to mail the mug rugs which is today! I’ve just emailed my swap partner to explain the situation and hope she understands. Working on it really hard now, so I can mail it out by next week.

Here’s some snapshots on what I’ve completed so far:

Completed Growing Flowers Mug Rug Top

Flower Basket Mug Rug Appliqued Top

Springtime Flowers Mug Rug Swap

Posted on May 2, 2014 by madewithcotton

Michele from the Quilting Gallery has organised another exciting mug rug swap and I’m in! This time, the theme is “Springtime Flowers” and the designs are so pretty! My partner is Pam from USA and I’m happy to be sewing for her. Her favourite colour is purple and I’m trying my best to have different shades of purple on the mug rug. Thank god purple is also one of my favourite spring colours and I’ve lots of purple stash lying around.

I finally found time to start on the mug rugs this week and I’m halfway done with the first mug rug. The applique pieces have been ironed on and I hope to finish my hand applique for the top this weekend.

Mug Rugs are Completed!

Posted on March 7, 2013 by madewithcotton

Yeah….after a few weeks of working on my mug rugs, they are finally completed and will be on their way to my swap partner tomorrow! My partner is a lady from Australia and I do hope she likes them. I’ve been too bogged down with work and kids lately, had it not been Gary lending his hands to do the finishing touches (ie binding), I may not be able to make it for the deadline! Thank you darling!

I should give myself a pat on the back, this being my first try in doing appliques, and I think they didn’t look too bad! I do hope to try out machine applique sometime soon….if I could find the time to practice.

Here’s my final “masterpieces”:


Two Owls Mug Rug

Winter Birdhouse Mug Rug

I’ve not received my mug rugs but I do hope I get them soon….it’s so exciting!

Mug Rugs are Near to Completion

Posted on February 24, 2013 by madewithcotton

I’ve finally finished the appliqued piece for the Two Owls Mug Rug. What’s left is quilting for the top and binding. Don’t think I’m going to quilt the top though, I think it looks good as it is! I should give myself a pat on the back since it’s my first attempt at applique and it didn’t look too bad (I think!).

I’ve also started working on the Winter Birdhouse Mug Rug since yesterday. This piece is easier to applique as there are less details and shapes and the top is close to completion! I’m lacking of some embroidery floss for the hand applique, which I will purchase from Spotlight tomorrow. I’m really glad the embroidery floss from my days of doing cross-stitch are still neatly packed in my thread box, which I could put to good use in my applique projects.

Since winter is over, I’ve decided to adopt a spring theme for this instead. Hence, colours chosen are basically bright shades of pink, green and purple. They didn’t look fantastic when pieced together, but I must say the appliqued pieces made a difference! Love the look of the overall colour combinations.

I’m targeting to have both mug rugs completed by end of the week.

Mug Rug is taking shape!

Posted on February 17, 2013 by madewithcotton

It’s been a crazy period for me & I was struggling to find time to start on the first mug rug. Managed to kick start the two owls project this week & progress has been good so far. Targeting to finish doing the appliqués by tonight.

I chose to hand appliqué the shapes as machine appliqué is really freaking me out! There’s no time to fight with the machine over this & hand appliqué should work just fine. After all, this is my first appliqué project. Shapes are appliquéd using Heat n Bond fusible web.

I have three more weeks to complete both projects & praying hard that I can meet the deadline.

Here’s what I’ve done so far.