Mug Shots project #2

Hi y'all!!

Spring has sprung, here, and I couldn't be happier about that -- this winter seemed to go on and on! (What? You mean one of these didn't pop up near you, like it did in my pasture?)

Recently I showed you a mug rug that was one of a trio of projects using some lovely Kona Bay fabrics from my stash.

Today I'll show you the second project -- the very biggest one is still under construction! (Grin)

This one is a table topper; I went outside of my usual comfort zone and thought "circle" instead of rectangular! 
Anyone ready for a tutorial? Grab your cuppa and settle in!

So here's what I started with . . .  lots of pretty cups and mugs in all of these lovely Kona Bay fabrics:

Each of these were prepared by tracing a mirror image of the cup or mug onto some Steam a Seam, and then peeling one paper off and applying that to the wrong side of the fabric. Be very careful when you use this method to apply it to the wrong side of your fabric . . . don't ask me how I know so very well . . . just nod and smile and peek discreetly at my pile of "this didn't work out right" scraps. (Grin)

Then the cuppa was cut out, and ready to apply to the foundation -- a cream tone-on-tone fabric that was also in my stash. (I know, I know, right? If you were here you would pat me on the head and congratulate me for being such a good kid and using fabrics from my stash!)

Next you grab a nearby lampshade (no, I'm not joking) and trace a nice 14 inch circle around the base of the shade, onto your foundation fabric!

Choose some of the cups and mugs and play with the placement, noting color and contrast, until you are pleased with how it looks.

Next (if you're me) you drag out all of your batting scraps and work out the jigsaw puzzle to make the inside of your quilt "sandwich."

Then I whipped out my trusty HeatPressBattingTogether product and made a single piece of batting to use! Love that stuff!

Here are Padsworth and DragonDrop, choosing the thread for the next step -- blanketstitching around each cup or mug in a coordinating color. I didn't try to match each time, just get into the same color family. I kinda like it to be more interesting than matching perfectly.

DragonDrop is convinced that this is the right color for the dark blue mug!

Padsworth decided that the bobbin thread should be this green, since the backing fabric was this scrap of Jenny Calo's green print from the Shimmering Frost line. . .

Looks like he was right! I like how this looks on the back of the table topper! 
I always love using my Aurifil threads! These are from the set "Simply Color" and you can find one for your very own right here! I'm always amazed at how smoothly these sew -- they make it even more fun! Thanks, Aurifil!

Here is DragonDrop's blue mug:

If you like, you can stitch a single line along the rim of the cup or mug:

Then put a narrow binding on the topper. I used bias binding, since it makes it around the curves like a mouse eluding Moses the Studio Cat!

I think the binding finished at a quarter of an inch. Yep, that really IS narrow. (Grin)

And here's Moses, proving that he can model for a blog post just as well as the boys . . .

I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial. If you would like to make one of these toppers, the patterns for the cup and mug are here in my Google docs folder for you to use.

Let me know if you make one!

Linking up with Katherine, Pam, and Nina at the Thursday Favorite Things Hop! Click on those links and join the fun!

Love,