Across the Pond Christmas Project and Give-away

I love December – it is a month of joy and gifts and chocolates on the tree.  It is also time for another Across the Pond project but the last thing any of us need in December is a HUGE project.  So I have the perfect, one-hour make for you this month (okay, some may take one-and-a-half-hours but hey – what’s 30 minutes between friends?)

My choice of project this month is the cup cosy or ‘mug hug’ as I like to call them.  There are plenty around but two of my faves are:

Sew Happy Geek – this is the simplest and most versatile.

You can patch it, applique it or use one piece of designer fabric.  Quick, easy and effective.  You could even make a co-ordinating mug hug with left-over fabric from another project (mmmm maybe a Patchsmith mug rug?)  What a great little present that would be for the Secret Santa.
Note:  Ignore the comment about needing an account to download - this is no longer true.

And then there is Staci over at Crafty Staci who has a selection of FREE patterns and tutorials.

Now these are some seriously cute, fun designs and I chose to make her fox mug hug to match my Fox mug rug and coaster. 

This mug hug went together really well - it was a little fiddly turning it right side out but my trusty chop-stick came to the rescue.  It took little more than an hour.

But I'm a greedy girl who wants all the presents on her wish-list.  I also wanted a mug hug for my pen pot.  My pen-pot-mug is quite short so I simply patched eleven 3" x 1½” strips together to give me a finished mug hug measuring 10½” by 2½” tall.  Then I appliqued the little blackbird from my Seasonal Tree mug rug pattern and hey-presto - a cosy country pen-pot.

Blackbird Pen Mug Hug

Then, just as I was about to fill up one of these mugs with a nice cup of Italian coffee, an email popped up to tell me that Amy (of 'Amy Made That' fame) had made a lovely tree skirt from Kate Spain's 'In From the Cold' winter fabrics.  This reminded me of the left-over charm squares from my JOY banner. And before I could say, 'Yes Santa, I have been good ...... at least once this year' - I had made another slightly larger version.  This one is reserved for my Christmas cocoa.

To match Amy's Christmas Tree Skirt
(I just need to figure out a way to get her to send it to me .....
perhaps I could tell her it is needed for a photo shoot!)

But you don’t have to make these cute little cosies just for mugs – what about jars of preserves (jam, marmalade, pickle) - or long, long hugs for bottles of wine.  I am sure you can come up with some other ideas as well.  

Oooh, that has given me an idea – how about a competition?  ‘YAY’ I hear you all screaming.  Just leave a comment telling me how you will use your mug hug.  I will pick a winner, at random, on Christmas Eve to receive a small fat quarter bundle.   (Make sure I can contact you to be in with a chance.)  And everybody who posts a photo of a mug hug onto the Across the Pond Flickr Group will get an extra chance to win.

Sew until next time .......