Repurposing some simple sewing projects

 

Years ago I won a giveaway at Sew4Home, one of my very favorite sites to find tutorials for things to sew for the home, and for personal use as well.  The giveaway was for a $125 gift certificate from Fabric.com.  You can read the story here.

One of the things that I chose was this fun Christmas panel from Moda, In From the Cold.  It's designed by Kate Spain.  I looked on line a bit, thinking that I might find one of these available on Etsy or eBay.  And they may well be out there.   But I got sidetracked when I found a treasure trove of free patterns to use with In From the Cold.  You may want to check these out.  I plan to take a closer look at them once Christmas in July is over.  But back to the panel.

I think that the rectangular pieces (which are the only parts of the panel I have used so far) were intended to be turned into little pillows. 

However, I looked at them and saw mug rugs.

 

And so,  that's what I did with four of them -- used one rectangle each for top and bottom, with batting between, to make two mug rugs.   I am sure I took photos of these, but a search has not turned them up.  But one of them is shown above.  The second one was made from the red rectangle at top left of the panel and the teacup one just below it.

But I seldom have a need to use a mug rug, yet I liked them too much to give them away.  So I had just tucked them into my hutch with similar items.  

Fast-forward to this humid summer, where anything that is cold will sweat and get surfaces wet.  We were finding it an issue with the quart of cream and the small jug of maple syrup on the coffee bar at our little camp.  We had been solving the problem by keeping a paper napkin underneath these commodities, but I wanted something prettier, and something thicker, so I thought of the mug mats.  I'm using one and will swap it out for the other if it gets too damp.

What a perfect solution!  We are loving how well this repurpose is working on our coffee bar.

For more Christmas fabric inspiration, visit my virtual Christmas fabric stash on Pinterest.  There is so much glorious fabric out there!!