A Black Tile Affair

Our city has a modern quilt guild (so lucky I know!) that launched last September. And most months the guild holds a “sew in”, where from 10 until 4 on the chosen day a dozen or so members get together to sew and gab and check out each other’s projects and tools. It’s lots of fun. 

Batik scraps

At our last sewing day I wanted to make a mug rug (a mini placement to use like a coaster, that is big enough to accommodate both a mug and snack) and I had no design in mind other than to pull from a bag of batik scraps and solid black scraps. Although it’s not part of the modern esthetic to use much black, I was reluctant to use light colours for a mat that might see any number of spills and stains. 

At the sew in Katy, who blogs over at LethargicLass, was working on a pillow cover and the design was wonderful. Such tiny pieces and so much work. I was in awe. Then she told me the secret and I knew I had found the perfect pattern for my mug rug. Katy’s Mosaic Tile Tutorial is part of a Mosaic Tile Quilt Along. So if this pattern captures your imagination hurry and give it a whirl and submit your output here by February 14. There’s a draw for some generous prizes of books and fabric.

1. The component parts: black strips and coloured squares. 2. Framed squares. 3. After slicing and dicing.

Although I can’t exactly say it was fun to make the framed squares, it was very cool to watch the piece come together. For some reason I thought a mug rug should finish to 7″ x 10″, but at that size it feels too big and clunky. 

Mosaic Tiles in Black. 7.5″ x 10.5″ (unfinished size)

Decisions, decisions. Since I like this little quilt top so much I don’t know that I want to trim it to a more manageable size. Nor am I sure about making it bigger when I have no need for a larger piece like a doll quilt or little wall hanging. 

Keeping in mind that it can be a mistake for me to rush to finish things, I’ll let this percolate a little and hope genius strikes soon.