input and help appreciated please ...

now it has been suggested that this would make an excellent monthly swap .... and i tend to agree ...

soooooo ... i was thinking .... maybe themed monthly mugrug swaps ... open partners ... not secret like the first one ... you could post your preferences .. if any .... however these would just be a guide for the maker ... not a hard and fast part of the swap .... although i would like it if everyone could respect their partners dislikes ... cos we all want to be able to use our new gifts ... and who wants to use something you dislike .. not me that's for sure ...

now .. what i am after is a few ideas of themes ...


i have some of my own ... like seasons .... and these we could do at the beginning of a new season ... however .. winter/summer has just begun .. so we will miss that one this year ... and to make it fair .. i think we could make it that ... it is the season of the receiver not the sender ... that way if you get an international partner ... you will get the season you are in .. not them ...

so if we did a season theme ... that would go something like ... red choice is southern hemisphere ... green choice would be the northern hemisphere ....

September ... spring / autumn
December ... summer / winter
March ... autumn / spring
June .... winter / summer ...

these could be pre-made if you think you want to play but may be busy around those months ... or if that will all become too confusing .. we could just run ... summer .. autumn .. winter .. spring ... let me know your thoughts on this ... after all ... it will be you all doing them too ... i need feedback here ...

actually if we have all our themes sorted ... you could pre-make all of them .... if you were inclined to do so ... i would prefer to wait to see who my partner would be ... and make it accordingly ... but ... that is me and i generally have heaps of time to do stuff ...

when we have 12 or more themes sorted .. I will do a thread for them ... so that there will be a reference for everyone to refer to ...

so .. all i need now is some ideas from everyone ... come on .. now is you chance to have an input in what we make ... don't be shy ...

thanks girls ...

OK, I will chuck in some ideas. What about.............

Coffee & Cake (of course!!)
Cups & Saucers
Buttons & Bows
Black, White & 1 Accent
Christmas
Chocolate Box
Apple Pie
Garden Gate
Sunshine & Shadow
Log Cabin
Valentines
Easter
Silhouettes
Snow Flakes ................

great list Evelyn... I have thought about some as well... hope they aren't the same or we could say ''great minds think a like''
fruit
sports
pets
birds
sewing notions
fairy tales
flowers... which could be seasonal
hobbies

excellent choices girls ....



but i think there are more ideas out there ... come on everyone ... you must have at least one idea ...


here is mine .. apart from those up above ... crazy patch ...

ooooooooooooooooh I could get excited abpout a crazy patch one

yes .. i have done a couple and they were fun to do .... i didn't go too 'crazy' with lace and stuff on them .. but just the right mix of colour and fabric etc cos sometimes less is better ... (or is that just a cop out for being slack !!! haha )... also did a black and white one .. that one i kept ... and love it ..... all the others are gone .... but not forgotten ...

Hello ladies, some excellent ideas there to choose from.

Crazy is good! Just as well cause I resemble that remark! ha ha
Can can also have added embellishment and decorative stitches too!
Yep....... hand up for a crazy one from a crazy one!

hand stitchings are excellent .............. iffin you can do em ................ which i have real problems with ........... at times ............... so mostly i add them via the machine .............

if you got it ............... flaunt it ............................ i say ................

a few thoughts -

• celebration,
  
• frogs,
  
• where I live,
  
• sunrise / sunset
  
• rainy days,
  
• mother goose
  

hmmmm ..................... some of these would also make exceptional fabric postcards hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... i wonder if we could make them too ...

Yes please even just once or twice a year would be great

I've been caught!

My list of suggestions do include postcard themes from a now closed quilting group.

It was a great list and would be a shame to have been lost. So Jan, thank you for saving it from oblivion and keeping with patchwork tradition alive and passing on quilting knowledge so future generations of crafters can continue to benefit! Does that make you feel better?

Other suggestions:

monochrome (all one colour in various shades eg almost white to pinks to darkest reds)
abstract
redwork (blackwork, etc all done in one colour with embellishments as desired)
Woodland folk (gnomes, fairies, brownies etc)
Butterflies, dragonflies, moths etc
Vase or window box full of flowers
sampler (any technique x-stitch/embroidery - by machine or hand etc, etc)

Evelyn,

What a list of beautiful suggestions!!

Here are some of my ideas for monthly mug rug swaps. I hope you like some of them. I know that some of the holidays I have listed are exclusive to the USA, but you can change some to fit the holidays in Australia. I think, stick with a theme, that might be easier to “do ahead” for some of us. Whatever you decide, I want to be in on.



January – Hearts and Flowers



February – St. Patrick’s Day



March – Easter



April – Mother’s Day Basket of Flowers



May – Spring Cleaning



June – 4^th of July



July – Vacation at the Beach



August – Back to School



September – Halloween



October - Thanksgiving



November - Christmas



December – New Year Celebration

great plan Jen thanks so much ... i too think having it as a calendar setup would be an advantage ...

And.......... Jen's list would give the rest of us 'down under' her current season/celebration so we could make a more appropriate mug rug for her if she joins?

Bobbie, would you be making a calendar list with either/or suggestions for both hemispheres? Eg Jen's suggests a beach theme for July, ours would be better for a winter theme?

July: beach or winter?

Come December, ours would be best for beach, and Jen's season would be winter, but.......... both of us would be having Christmas!

I think I will have a and sit and wait to see what list you will come up with!

well there is nothing to say we couldn't do 2 a month and cover both hemispheres ...


but ... i think if we could use say the 4th of july or thanksgiving for one swap ... and australia day for another ... sort of a trade off ... and should we get members from the UK or somewhere else .. then we could throw in one of their major holidays ...


or along that same thought ... we could just have a month or 2 .. where we chose a national holiday theme from our country to send to our partner ... that way we get a good mix up ...... i think i like this idea the best ... hahahaha ...

what do you all think ...


see i do just type what i think ... as i think it ... not too much planning goes on first ... lol

TWO a MONTH!!!! YIKES!!!!!

Now I know my mug rug 'collection' is currently standing at 2 (yes, two is a collection!!!) , and I want to add to my collection, BUT Bobbie................ I don't think I want to do two a month! Of course, others might?

I do like the idea of being able to sew in advance where I can to avoid last minute rushes.....?

But, I also like the idea of more chatting in the swap threads to get to know each other's likes and dislikes and to allow us to make something specific for our swap partners after the partners draw has been done.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? What to do????

i was really just thinking out loud with those suggestions .. and i guess 2 a month could really be pushing things ... but i am sure we will get there in the end ...


i will have all this stuff sort before we head off traveling .. that way i too can play and get stuff done in advance ... and then just add bits too each months one to accommodate my different partners ..

Ummm...is there a pattern for these little thingies? Measurements and such? Cos I am a bit mystified....

no pattern, mine are made 6 1/2 inches by 9 1/2 inches or thereabouts........just like a coaster but bigger?
I generally do the piece, wadding/backing and then quilt...then bind.
but here is a link for some.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

karen is right Deb ... no pattern to speak of ... i cut mine 6.5 x 10.5 .. then cut them back to 6x10 before binding ..

the reason i do it a bit bigger to begin is sometimes the quilting pulls it out of shape and the final cut sorts that out .. haha ..

the idea of these is just anything is right ... you can do all sorts of different things .. that is what makes them fun ...

check out that link of karens .. it is super ... or ... just google ' mugrug ' and check them out images ... it will really astound you at some of the eye candy out there ...

they are a cross between a coaster and a placemat ... see .. simple ..

hey there Bobbie... I see the next mug rug is silhouettes... is this just black outlines or shadows???