Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Mini Art Quilt / Mug Rug

This mug rug (in actual fact, just a mini art quilt) was recently commissioned by a neighbour who asked if I could make something for her husband from a treasured shirt that had fallen to pieces.

The grey plaid shirt was particularly special to him but by the time I got it it had been worn and washed so often that parts of it were literally in shreds. There were still a few sections of fabric that were solid, though, and I used them to create this little mug rug. I wanted to retain as much of the essence of the shirt as I could so part of the fabric that I used came from the placket of the shirt and I also used the buttons.

The grey and orange fabric is cotton from Nancy Crow's line and I used it as the back of the mug rug as well.  I added the recipients initial with Shiva Paintstiks and then free motion quilted it in blocks of straight(ish) lines and bound it with black cotton around the edges.

The mug rug measures about 6-8" and was made to fit on the table beside his favourite chair.