Tea for Teal Mug Rug Swap on the way!

It's coming........

If you've been paying any sort of attention at all to the sidebars on this blog, you may have noticed that button on the upper left for a few months now. If you haven't been paying attention, well, there it is in all of its teal ribboned splendor. Gaze upon it in wonder and awe for a moment.

So yeah, to "celebrate" Ovarian Cancer Awareness month (September, which will be here before you can finish that next binding, hotties), I've decided to see if I can make a Mug Rug Swap and mini fundraiser for Ovarian Cancer Research Fund happen. Because I firmly believe this disease needs as much awareness as it can get.

As much as great strides have been made over the last few years in awareness, unfortunately those of us who have been affected by it in any way often still feel like this:

So I am going to try to do my part to turn my little corner of the world, aka Hottie Haven, a lovely shade of teal this early fall. I do hope you might consider joining in what I am sure will be a fun little mug rug swap!

The basic premise (outlined in much more detail below) is that each participant will receive a 5.5" x 9" piece of this fabric

How could I NOT be inspired to create a Mug Rug Swap out of this?

and will create a mug rug for another participant, which should include a bit of this fabric somewhere on it. The piece of fabric should be big enough that you can use it however you like; using it as the backing only is perfectly acceptable. Once the mug rug is done, you'll mail it to the person to whom you are assigned. Easy Peasy. Everyone has a cool new teal themed mug rug to build a little awareness and make afternoon tea time a whole new brand of awesome.

You know it has to be easy peasy because I hate that term, but I just used it because nothing else will do.

How will this raise any money? Well, it won't raise a ton, but there is a small participation fee of $5.00, $3.50 per participant of which will go directly to OCRF. The other $1.50 will be used to defray costs of the fabric and shipping. We're going with the belief that every little bit helps, which I hold dear. The swap is for sure open to International participants, but because of the insane cost of shipping anything larger than a flea past the US border, unfortunately I have to charge $10 to International participants. I hate doing it, but I don't have much of a choice if I want to break even on shipping and send the full $3.50 per participant to OCRF.

Don't know what a mug rug is? Well, move aside the rock you have been living under and use your favorite search engine to look up some photos, but don't stand too close to the computer or you will drown in the deluge of imagery that is about to hit you. Here are some of my favorites:

 From Pin. Sew. Press blog

From All Free Sewing

From Kiss Kiss Quilt

 
 Anyway, you get the idea. They are a little quilt just big enough for your mug and your cookie. It's like the most brilliant concept ever - practice some new technique or make a quick small scale project and encourage snacking at the same time. Any size or shape will do, but most are rectangular and about 5" x 8" or so. Hence the 5.5" x 9" piece of fabric you will get that will be big enough for a backing if so desired.

So, ready to swap? Here's what you need to do and all the other details:

"Tea For Teal Mug Rug Swap and OCRF Fundraiser":

 1. Hit the email address right here: evapaigequilts@charter.net,** and send me your name, mailing address, and any preferences you may have in regard to the mug rug that will be made for you. IE, if you really dislike a certain kind of fabric, etc. Signups will be held between now and August 26. You may certainly comment below and tell me you want to participate and also mention how much fun you know we are all going to have, etc, but you can't sign up without actually emailing me.

**I apologize if this link does not work. I have gone over and over it and it works for me, but not for everyone. I think it may have to do with Outlook, or the lack thereof, or the price of tea in China, or the curvature of the earth as relates to the size of my brain. If you cannot click, do not dispair. Please just copy and paste the email and accept my thousand apologies of good intentions and computers who hate me.

2. I will email you a paypal invoice for $5.00 ($10 International participants). Once paid, you will be in and a confirmation of your participation will be sent to you. At that point, all you do is wait for your package of fabric and the name of the person you will be sending the finished mug rug to, which will be mailed out to you on August 27. You should receive this package by September 3 at the very latest, which will give you plenty of time to whip up a mug rug.

3. Make your mug rug, which must include the color teal as part of the design on the front, and mail it to your swap partner by September 30.

4. When your mug rug arrives, oooh and aaaah all over it for several minutes. Admire the amazing handiwork and love that was put into it by someone who only wanted to spend a little time making a treat for another quilter and raise a buck or two for a good cause. If possible, round up all of your neighbors and show them your new gift. They will be so jealous of you. Invite them in for a cookie and tea as a consolation, but then say, "Oh, wait, you have no mug rug to put that cookie on. Poor you." That will teach them not to sign up next year.


5. Upload a photo of your present to the Flickr group set up just for the swap. Ooooo and aaaaaah over it again, as well as over the other photos.

6. If you don't receive a mug rug by October 8, please email me immediately so that I can try to track it down. We want everyone to walk away happy!

And of course have OCRF be a little bit richer. Which just might lead to the next big breakthrough; you never know, do you?

I really hope you'll consider participating! Sign ups are now through August 26, and I do have a finite amount of fabric, so don't delay!