Scrappy Inspiration

I love mini quilts!  From wall-hangings to table runners to mug rugs and pillow covers, I enjoy all types of miniature quilt projects.

They are a great way to use up scraps, repurpose orphan blocks, try a new technique on a small scale, and, my favorite... Get a quick quilting fix when you don't have time for a big finish.

I have fun decorating my house with all kinds of minis: the walls, the tables, the kitchen countertop! Some might say I've gone overboard, but I enjoy seeing quilts and fabric everywhere I look!

I decided I needed a new, scrappy mug rug to go with a new mug I received as a Christmas gift fom one of my students.  I started by looking through my stash and my scrap basket for inpiration.  I found a fat quarter of this text print with a fun kitchen-y theme:

Then I looked through my scrap basket for bits and pieces to go along with it.  

I decided I wanted to try a "quilt as you go" technique to make this little mug rug.  So I found a scrap piece of batting and started with a piece of the inspiration fabric at an angle down the center.

I sewed the first piece to the batting, right side down, then folded it over and added some straight lines of quilting about 1/2 inch apart.

I kept adding strips of fabric to this first piece until I had a slab about 9 by 12 inches.

I squared this up to about 8 1/2 by 11 inches, made some binding out of the green and a bit of the text fabric, and sewed it all up!

My favorite kind of scrappy project:  colorful and quick! Definitely instant gratification! 

Inspiration comes in many forms!  Most of mine comes from the online quilting community. Especially places like Quilting is More Fun than Housework (which it definitely is!).  Thanks, Cyndy!