As part of our quilting guild, we go out once a year for our Christmas dinner. Every year we have to provide a gift for someone – anyone, it’s pot luck who you receive and hopefully you receive a nice gift back.
This year’s theme was a Christmas Cracker with a value up to $15.
I actually did something quite radical really. The dinner is in another week. Mine has been finished for a month. I actually GOT SOMETHING DONE IN TIME! **
I decided to make a mug rug, and a small needle/scissor keep.
It was much easier than I envisaged. I think I’ve been doing massive quilts for so long I forgot the pleasure of doing the little things.
First of all, I made the mug rug. I appliqued one side with a sweet cup of tea, and pieced a six inch block.
![IMG_2324 IMG_2324](//lh4.ggpht.com/-FJY4BRWcWOo/UqBele4SCnI/AAAAAAAAHZo/6j3iPe0pRm4/IMG_2324_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
The block is actually square but the dodgy photography makes it skew-wiff.
I stitched the two together after appliqueing the cup and saucer
![IMG_2364 IMG_2364](//lh3.ggpht.com/-AmIuph9Tf6I/UqBeulzodEI/AAAAAAAAHaI/VcjS-1loKNE/IMG_2364_thumb%25255B7%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
Then I quilted it a little, whacked a binding on it, and bob’s your uncle. From start to finish it took me about probably two hours. I adore the colours, don’t you? I was going to do the whole Christmassy fabric thing but we only have those fabrics out for such a long time, I decided to give that a miss.
And the end result looks very nice, yes?
![IMG_2368 IMG_2368](//lh3.ggpht.com/-RLIIlTKx9Rk/UqBex_zTs1I/AAAAAAAAHaU/jKrWSrihNCg/IMG_2368_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
![IMG_2369 IMG_2369](//lh5.ggpht.com/-kB5NN-aw4S4/UqBe0-NdZLI/AAAAAAAAHak/EBCbGyecTOU/IMG_2369_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
After the success of that little venture, I made a small scissor/needle-keep.
That was easy peasy also. I pieced a whole stack of 1.5” squares together in the same fabric line that I made the mug rug out of. I made them about the size I thought would work, and then quilted it all together using a nice backing fabric and a remnant of wadding.
![IMG_2327 IMG_2327](//lh6.ggpht.com/-vutR1Gly3wc/UqBe57NaGhI/AAAAAAAAHa4/LHsO9uXfTd8/IMG_2327_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
I trimmed it all back to size and then bound it much as you would any little quilt.
![IMG_2328 IMG_2328](//lh5.ggpht.com/-MWgkVe1CRAM/UqBe-J6UbTI/AAAAAAAAHbI/1n34mDn2144/IMG_2328_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
I included a pocket that ran along the bottom of it, simply stitched in place. Then a layer of wadding as my needlekeeper, and it was done!
![IMG_2365 IMG_2365](//lh4.ggpht.com/-PGnfcfGNPvs/UqBfB7bY67I/AAAAAAAAHbY/9Kb2H9bCZ0o/IMG_2365_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
![IMG_2367 IMG_2367](//lh3.ggpht.com/-BJ0571M7-bc/UqBfFI_S8lI/AAAAAAAAHbo/4krHwYlMv7E/IMG_2367_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
![IMG_2366 IMG_2366](//lh6.ggpht.com/-IfvWkbkT-T4/UqBfIRCQa8I/AAAAAAAAHb4/aKqnSEDep0g/IMG_2366_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
Folded in half it measures about five inches x four inches.
Once I had made those little lovelies, I needed to fit them into some sort of Christmas cracker. I didn’t have a clue how to do this, and then I had a flash of brilliance.
![IMG_2372 IMG_2372](//lh6.ggpht.com/-UAzf_JGcrYE/UqBfKY64nNI/AAAAAAAAHcI/7sgIbB6LHFU/IMG_2372_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
The inside of a Pringles packet was the perfect size for my cracker.
![IMG_2345 IMG_2345](//lh5.ggpht.com/-W6CUQwT4PDo/UqBfNSM72eI/AAAAAAAAHcY/7xPif5ekm6A/IMG_2345_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
I collected my supplies and had a go. A little pink ribbon and a very sweet pink teatowel as the outer casing was all I needed.
![IMG_2373 IMG_2373](//lh6.ggpht.com/-YZhe9en6uTw/UqBfQSjYbNI/AAAAAAAAHco/0u4N9qmM9Js/IMG_2373_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
It couldn’t have been easier. I just put my needlekeep and mug rug inside the Pringles packet, lay it in the middle of the teatowel and just rolled it up. All I needed to do was tie the ends with a matching ribbon.
![IMG_2374 IMG_2374](//lh3.ggpht.com/-_9gK_iYR5jk/UqBfSsjMOUI/AAAAAAAAHc4/kdFtjvflxQw/IMG_2374_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
And it is done! A lovely, not rushed, Christmas gift for one of my quilting friends.
![IMG_2375 IMG_2375](//lh3.ggpht.com/-cgBh0imfyV8/UqBfUpakqCI/AAAAAAAAHdI/3IKACXrXAtk/IMG_2375_thumb%25255B8%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)
I really hope she likes it.
Till tomorrow,
Suzie
**longtime readers will recognise this is not a normal behavioural pattern for me.