Winter Wonderland Mug Rug

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I just had to make this little wall hanging…..I thought it was going to be a mug rug but nope……I think I will keep it and hang it in my quilt room. It was so much fun to make.

For the past few days Frieda Anderson from Walks in the Woods – Art Quilts
has been showing how to make these cute little Christmas trees in a
wall hanging…..mine looks nothing like her beautiful wall hanging but I just wanted to try the technique and make something fairly fast.

Winter Wonderland fused art @Freemotion by the River

Of course if I change my mind it would be a great mug rug!

Winter Wonderland mug rug @Freemotion by the River

A few weeks ago I was at my daughter’s house and just happened to stop by Hancock Fabrics where their Olfa products were 50%
off. It was a great time to buy some fancy blades and a new cutter. I
just love getting a bargain! Plus I kept looking at all the fun and creative things that Laura and Frieda were doing with these tools.

I have a Scallop, Pinking and a Wave blade and new cutter so I decided it was time to play with my blades. New toys are so much fun!

Olfa cutter and specialty blades

I used Heat n Bond Lite to fuse my fabric, the reason I use this brand……I still have tons of it left from when I used to do craft & art shows so I’m using it up. The trees are shown on release paper which is actually the backing on the fusible. If you fuse large pieces follow Laura and Frieda’s tips….save it.

Fused trees on release paper

My piece has lots of free motion applique on it, I bet that doesn’t surprise anyone. At first I did the stitching the way that Frieda did it but then I realized if I used it for a mug rug…..that would be a lot of wear & tear so….back to my free motion applique. I took a photo after I did the basic stitching but it was blurry, check Frieda’s blog to see her photos.

I did all my free motion quilting on my trusty ole 1591 Singer sewing machine. This was a lot more fun than repairing jeans like I did the other day.

Vintage 1591 Singer for my free motion quilting

I am tickled that I took the time to finally try out those blades and I will definitely be doing some more Fusible Art.

I have learned how to do paper piecing this year…..I couldn’t figure it out and blamed it on being left handed. All I had to do was sign up for a paper piecing blog hop and commit……that meant I had to take the time to learn it and guess what? It clicked and I love doing it  now.

Next year I want to work on more projects that involve thread painting, fused art, applique, Zentangle and drawing…..what new things do you want to learn or work on?

Fused Art Tree

Laura Wasilowski from Artfabrik took part in the Blog Hop giveaway and guess what! I won her scraps! I can’t wait to see what fun little pieces I get! She has many great tutorials on her blog, books, DVD’s and just filmed a class for Craftsy.

Take a little time and learn about the techniques that both of them use.You’ll find they also love bright and beautiful fabrics! They both also have newsletters that are worth signing up for.

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28 Comments

  1. Those are awesome! Funny thing- I have one of those curvy blades and have never used it because once I bought it, I didn't know what to do with it. This Christmas I tried making tree ornaments, but they were cut out with pinking shears (which were WAY dull) that didn't work worth a darn. But all the time I had the answer right in my tool chest! Silly me.

  2. Wonderful!! These trees make me happy:)

  3. Laura Wasilowski says:

    Good job on those trees! I hope you enjoy the scraps I'm sending!
    Laura

  4. Oh my gosh Connie! Those are awesome. I am starting to think your wish list is much the same as mine. I have those blades on my list as well.

  5. Your trees are magical! I keep meaning to try out Laura's technique of fusible art… one day… I so enjoyed her demo on the Quilt Show a while ago. Just thinking it will be like playing with fuzzy felt when you get her pieces.. what fun!!

  6. What an absolutely darling little quilt! Love it. I have some of those rotary blades around here somewhere but haven't used them in ages! YOu inspire me to get them out. Thank you.
    Lucky ducky to have won the drawing. can't wait to see what you do with her scraps.
    Merry Christmas!

  7. Love your trees,you should keep it for sure! Have fun playing with your new scraps 🙂

  8. you make the most amazing projects Connie,well done.xx

  9. Apple Avenue Quilts says:

    Wonderful little quilt! I have never tried any of these wavy blades, but I think they look like fun.

  10. cottonreel says:

    Yes , I have a pinking blade . Very useful . Nice mug mat or whatever you choose to use it for

  11. Deb@asimplelifequilts says:

    So much cuteness in your little quilt! Love it.

  12. This is looking lovely – just in time for Christmas

  13. Your trees are adorable! And congrats for winning…I know you will put them to good use!

  14. Oh! It´s so cute! It´s a beautiful design!

  15. Sofia/MªRosalia/Raúl says:

    Good morning…
    Beautiful…
    wonderful work…
    Thanks por the links too
    Merry Christmas.
    Hugs
    Maria Rosalia

  16. Connie beautiful work.

  17. I love that! Those trees are adorable.

  18. Teresa in Music City says:

    How totally cute!!! I saw that Frieda was doing those cute trees, but haven't had time to really go over and read it yet. Must make time today :*) I have all of those blades – bought them some time ago and never took them out of the package. Looks like a fun play day :*)

  19. Well, that is just cute as a button. My BFF would go nuts over this. I don't have those fancy blades (guess I'll have to add them to my ever-growing list :/) but I think I will have to give this a bit of a try. 🙂 You always have such wonderful 'bits' for us on your blog. I just love it. 🙂

  20. It is sew cute, and I love the look of the cuts with your fancy new blades!

  21. I Quilt for Fun says:

    That is darling. Of course you must keep it!

  22. Connie, that's so beautiful! I couldn't leave it to go. Your new cutters look great; wow you can use them for so many wonderful things! x Teje