Hi everyone!
What a busy weekend it has been. A special hello goes out to all my new followers from all corners of the globe 
It has been wonderful to welcome you to my Mystery Blackwork Stitch Along (SAL) and the photographs of your beautiful work which I’ve received so far, can now be seen in the gallery here. I’ll update the gallery as I receive your new photo’s.
If you like what you see there, take a peek at the gallery of another SAL organised by my dear friend Claire. She has an English blog here and a French blog here. She is so talented!
I couldn’t resist a few statistics about the SAL so far, so here goes…
There are 24 stitchers in the group.
13 are from France, 3 from the US, 3 from the UK, 1 from Germany, 1 from Singapore, 1 from Sweden, 1 from Switzerland and 1 from The Gambia (how exotic is that!?)
If anyone else wants to join the group, there is still time. You will need about one hour per week to stitch each part. All the instructions and free chart are here. Any questions, just ask!
Today, I have something to show you that I have made for a very special friend who had a birthday recently. I decided to photograph my progress as I used the “Quilt as you go” method to make a mug rug. There are many ways to make one of these. This is my favourite way as there is no need to quilt it at the end. I hope you like it!
You will need:
Backing fabric 11 x 9 inches
Wadding 11 x 9 inches (you may wish to use heat resistant wadding but do not use polyester wadding as it will melt on your iron)
Five strips 8 x 2.5 inches
Binding 48 x 2.25 inches, folded and pressed in half with wrong sides facing.
Lay the wadding on top of the backing fabric.
Position the first strip, right side up, about one quarter of an inch from the right hand edge.
Sew in place using a quarter inch seam through all three layers.
Turn the work so that the strip is positioned to the left.
Lay the next strip on top of the previous strip with right sides facing.
Sew a quarter inch seam through all layers down the right hand side of the strip.
Lift the second strip and press towards the right.
Like this.
Place the third strip on top of the second strip with right sides facing.
Sew a quarter inch seam through all layers down the right hand side of the strip.
Lift the new strip and press to the right.
Continue until all five strips are attached. Then sew down the right hand side of the final strip.
Then sew along the top and bottom and trim all the way round to make a rectangle.
Line up the raw edges of the folded binding strip with the edge of the mug rug. Leave about 3 inches before starting to sew a quarter inch seam down the side.
Stop sewing one quarter of an inch before the first corner.
Pull the work away from the needle area of the machine. There is no need to cut the threads. Turn the work to this position.
Lift the binding and finger press in this position. The fold should make a 45 degree angle and the raw edge should be in line with the right hand side of the work.
Keeping the fold in place, bring the binding down in line with the next raw edge of the work.
Continue to sew from the very edge of the work to the next corner and repeat until all four corners are done. Stop sewing about three inches before the finish.
Overlap the ends of the binding strip and cut so there is a half inch overlap.
This bit is quite tricky! Sew the ends of the binding, right sides together, using a quarter inch seam.
Finger press the seam open then continue to sew the rest of the binding to the mug rug. Turn the binding towards the back of the work.
Hand stitch the binding to the back, folding to make the mitred corners.
Ta-da!
Just testing 
I’ve also made table runners, toppers, cushion fronts and place mats using the ”Quilt as you go” method. It also works well for small jelly roll strip quilts. If you want some extra challenge….use diagonal strips, maybe of different widths……you choose, be creative! Whatever you decide to do, have lots of fun experimenting
Latest news! Lin has now received her prezzie and she’s making good use of it. I love fig rolls too!
And look what she’s busy with….the Mystery Blackwork SAL. I’m looking forward to seeing this one on the dark fabric 
Come on all you quilters! You know you want to try this. I’m sure you can spare about an hour a week to stitch along with us!
You can stitch in one colour, or if you prefer, a selection of colours. Some of Claire’s SAL members have used variegated threads and they look lovely too. We will be stitching with only one thread, unlike cross stitch where we would normally use two threads at once. I will provide the chart for my design FREE of charge. So, there is something for nothing! Don’t you just love that idea? I will reveal stages of the chart every Friday and there will be about an hour of stitching per week if you want to keep up 
