Dreaming of Spring

 My dad had a family of gnomes that graced the front of his house many years ago. I actually made them in ceramics class and I know that he loved them. We all loved them. Unfortunately they disappeared one night, dad was so sad that someone would take them. I remember driving around our little town looking for them. I'm sure some high school kids thought it would be funny to take them as a prank. When ever I see gnomes, I think of the set that I made for mom and dad. I love garden gnomes. I have a 'miniature' set of them in my flower pots. A couple of larger ones in my vegetable garden. Makes me smile, thinking dad is looking over my gardens. 

Calendar says it's the first day of spring. It feels like a Minnesota spring day, it's raining. There's just a little bit of snow tucked up along the tree line. I've even seen my first robin! So there is hope that I'll be gardening soon. Since Spring International Quilt Market has been cancelled, I'll have a little more time for gardening. With all that is going on in the world, it's nice to think about gardening and plan out what I'm going to plant. 

I love Gnomes so much that I've designed a sweet little gnome applique pattern a few years ago. It's cute on a tea towel, but it's super cute as a mug rug.

~ Garden Gnome ~

To make a mug rug, I used some leftover fabric and cut a 7 1/2" x 10 1/2" square

one for the front, one for the back and then one piece out of batting. Iron the gnome pieces onto the front and layer it all together. I like to applique thru all of the layers using a buttonhole stitch. I then square the edges up in case they shifted while I quilted the mug rug. Then add on the binding. I use a 2 1/2" x WOF strip that is folded in half for the binding. Sew on some buttons and embroider on the eyes. It's a quick and easy project, makes a wonderful gift paired with a coffee mug.

 I hope that you enjoyed my little gnome project.

Happy quilting,
Cindy and Belvedere