Made with Moxie: Mother's Day, mug rugs and monkeys

May 15, 2012

Mother's Day, mug rugs and monkeys

Everyone in our house is feeling much better now. Thank you all for your kind words. It felt good to have you say you liked reading my blog because I was real. Despite my daily attempts to be a supermom, I am not. Why edit out the screaming toddlers and vomiting infants. Someone should get a good laugh out of it, right?

Now that Mother's Day has passed I can show you what I made for my mother and mother-in-law; the two women who have everything, need nothing and who are so crafty they could make everything themselves. Which makes them the hardest persons to get gifts for; unless you count the dads who give you zero ideas whatsoever. Seriously all the mothers ask for are grandbabies, pictures of grandbabies and visits from grandbabies. Instead I made them one of these.
The colors are twigging out, I know, but I can't fix it, and they're already gone so no retakes.
Each hand got traced (or in Jimmy's case stamped because I challenge you to trace an 8 month old's hand) on to the paper side of Heat'n Bongd Lite. Each person got a fabric of their own 'personality' and was then machine appliqued to mid-weight denim. I hand stitched our last name with embroidery thread along with the year to record when our little ones hands were this small.
The cover has a snap and envelope closure so they can be washed since they were going to homes with pets. I also made the custom piping. I'm please to report both mothers loved their pillows. Which only ups the ante for next year. And I'm not making anymore grandbabies.

These past few days I have sewn some random little things. Since kids were still on the mend and the house trashed from the week before there was very little time to sew, but I still had to make something to keep from going mad.
I took two of the test squares from my Modern Mini Quilt and made them into a mug rug. For those who don't know, a mug rug is smaller than a placemat and larger than a coaster; like just the right size for a cup of coffee and a bagel. It seems like a silly thing. I think crafters made it up so they could just make incredibly tiny quilts.I don't have the proper stuff to make it heat resistant so it shouldn't be a hot pad. Luckily, it perfectly fits on this table in my sunroom. So, a mug rug it is.

I also made Bruce. He belongs to Jimmy now.
When Jane was born I made her my first sock monkey. Now when I go to Target I buy knee socks when they are on sale and would make super awesome monkeys. The pile of monkey socks has been calling my name for a while now so I pulled out four pairs this week. They are so simple to make, easy on the stress level and something I can make with an infant asleep on my lap.

Bruce has a mustache. Ron Swanson would be proud.

And ha, ha! I got beans and peas to grow. I actually think the first round were eaten. Hopefully this round will stay once I transplant them.


The final order of business is prepping for the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day. I need your help for my giveaway. Would you rather win a Noodlehead envelop clutch or aMother Daughter vintage ruffled apron set?