At the guild gift store at our last show, I bought a cute mug with a mug rug to go with it. I just loved the idea, so I made a couple of mats and found mugs to go with them. I put them out for sale at the Fall Fiber Faire at our local quilt shop last fall, and sold all but one.
This one was the first thing sold that day. The mug is huge, and really cute.
You’ve seen the one I did with the Paris theme fabrics. I found the mug first on this set.
When my friend, Diana, gave me some coffee themed fabrics, it seemed the perfect choice for a few more of these projects. I found a cute sentiment to embroider, and matched the colors in the fabric.
I thought this one would make a good gift for someone who is a coffee fan.
It went well with the fabric, and I decided to cut the same size square for the front, then quilt it with the same print as backing.
Here are the pieces, cut to about 8 inches square.
Pairing the embroidery with a square makes the top. Two are placed side by side for quilting. I had a lot of extra space at the bottom, so I decided to make one more square mat to quilt at the same time.
As the embroidery was going on the next one, I heard some funny noises from the bobbin area. As the machine moved to the starting point for the next color, the entire piece bunched up and jammed. It took a moment to get it disengaged from the frame, and then to pull it up to find this mess.
I cut the fabric away from the bird nest, and then had to take the throat plate off to clean out the thread. Ugh, set me back almost an hour. On the bright side, it was good to get all the lint out of the bobbin race.
Starting over for the square one, I put together another embroidery sandwich with stabilizer and fabric. The “coffee” motif with the beans embroidered fine this time. I used a water motif pantograph that looks a bit like steam curls on all three. The square mat may need a bit more quilting, and I may go back and add some later. Pressing helped.
All three were finished with traditional machine sewn binding. I found a set of two new mugs that were perfect for the mats. So, two more are done and ready for the guild gift shop.
This brings the total to four mugs with coordinating mats for the guild gift shop. I plan to make two more with sewing motifs, then I’ll be done with that idea. I think six total is a good number for the shop, not too many, but enough for people to have a nice choice. The good thing is if they do not sell there, I’ll have them for the next Fall Fiber Faire. On to the next project.
From My Carolina Home 
Love the Themed Mug Rugs paired with matching mugs. You could add a packet of hot chocolate or a tea bag for the non-coffee lovers.
Looks like the weekend will be a sewing time — in between shoveling snow! Stay warm, dry & safe!
These are fabulous! I loved the idea of themed mug rugs with the mugs! I will put on my list to make for the next fund raiser for the community center’s adult day care! I do not own an embroidery machine , but I can fussy cut or hand stitch something! Stay warm! -11 here and super winder in SE MI. We are two miles from Lk Erie!
Don’t you just cringe when you hear those bobbin noises? The worst thing about it is taking off the needle plate. The designers who didn’t think about providing sufficient space for a decent screwdriver or better yet a pop up plate like my old Singer deserved to be fired. Our club is having its biennial show this year & is looking for items to sell. I guess I know what I can do while snowed in this week!
Very cute and very practical too. I use a mug rug every day for my beverages. They should sell welll.
Your coffee themed mats are perfect for those of us who love coffee! They will be big sellers!
I experienced a thread conundrum similar to yours on a recent embroidery project. Just when I had my momentum in full swing, I came to a dead stop and had to free the machine from the tangle. Not fun.
Toasting you with coffee and wishing you good health and fewer tangles!
I should think that people who like coffee would snatch those up in a heartbeat. They’re really cute and so cheerful! It will be a good weekend to sew or craft.
What a perfect idea and I love that you pair the rugs with matching mugs. I’m sorry the bobbin mishap set you back in progress, but the next embroidery panel turned out lovely and hopefully you won’t need to clean out the bobbin lint for a while.