Block 54 - A Blessing

Block 54 - Cupid's Arrow

I love days like today.  It started ordinarily enough – a full schedule of driving other people to appointments whilst I found somewhere warm to wait for them.  But then, something unexpected happened ......... a moment of bliss crept up on me.

I was sat, between appointments, in a warm supermarket cafe drinking coffee and sewing today’s block.   And I realised – I was content – more than content – I felt blessed.  It is surprising what a little bit of fabric and a needle-and-thread can add to a day full of commitments.

Red Elephants Never Forget

Red Elephants Mug Rug Pattern

I’m revisiting some of my early patterns as I create a book collection of animal and pet mug rug patterns.  This week I have been working on the Red Elephants mug rug. 

This pattern was the third mug rug pattern I designed and it came about after my sister, Lea, gave me a little notebook to write my ideas in.  It was this notebook that inspired the Red Elephant mug rug pattern. 

The inspiration behind Red Elephants

Two years later and my pattern making skills have much improved.  So I have updated Red Elephants to reflect this.  The hearts are a little more ‘heart-like’, the template slightly more defined and I have included a ‘print-to-size’ check box on the appliqué sheet.  The mug rug size and cuteness is just as it always was.

The Original 2012 Red Elephants Mug Rug

The original was hand-stitched and I love that soft look hand-stitching gives appliqué.  

Hand-stitched Elephant

But in the interests of balance I remade it this week using machine stitching.  Machine stitching gives it a crisper look and I love this look too.   

Machine-stitched Elephant

Isn’t that a sign of a good pattern – one that suits all sewists and methods?  I hope you enjoy the update. 

p.s.  If you purchased the original Red Elephants pattern then all you need do is re-download it from your Craftsy pattern library.  If you haven’t purchased this mug rug pattern then you’ll be pleased to know, it is available in my Craftsy store for the bargain price of $1.99 - or you could wait for me to complete the new book as this pattern will be included.

Block 47 - Trim That Heart

Block 47 - Trim That Heart

As much as I like playing with fabric I also like to play with trim and notions (ribbon, rick-rack, buttons, etc).   And so it is with Block 47.

I created a very simple paper-pieced block which features a band across the heart.  (You can download the free 3" and 4" Band of Hearts template here.)  The band can be embroidered as shown here .....

I used Segoe Script font from Microsoft Work
sized at 32 for the words on this 3" heart.

or it can provide the perfect backdrop for a little bit of trim ....... 

Block 47 - I paper pieced a cream band to lie behind the trim.

So what are you waiting for?   Go play ....... 

p.s. If you are looking for a good use for the 3” heart blocks then check out Simple Striped Accent Pillow pattern by Susie's Sunroom – the accent strip is the perfect size for the 3” block.  I shall be joining in a blog hop at the beginning of March for this versatile pattern so 'watch this space' as they say.