Wonky Star Paintbox

After much hemming and hawing (and many strawberry Fig Newtons), I finally put together some of these yummy Mendocino fabrics for Mug Rug #1.

I wanted to showcase the fabrics, so I kept it pretty simple...but it was hard! Making a small quilt forces me to edit my many ideas and love of details to one strong picture. It also forces me to do math (grr, arg). I'm pretty happy with this one, but I don't think I'll love it until it's quilted.

Here's what I came up with for the back:

H is for Home, Happiness, and it's also the first initial of their new last name ;o) (These pics make the colors look much lighter than the top, but in real life they are exactly the same.)

Since I'm on a mug rug kick, I thought I'd make up another gift for a friend, just because. She is fond of saying that life is not black and white, but all the many shades of color in between. A paintbox mug rug is definitely in order.

Double whammy! It's a stash-buster! Muahahahhh...

Originally I wanted to do a wonky star paintbox. The wonky star is probably my favorite block, if I had to choose. It's what I go to in a pinch. I love looking at them and how easy they are to make. But when I made these...

...the star points seemed to fade into the background more than I expected. So I switched up the fabric placement. Which is better?

The top one is more like a color splash...but the bottom one is more paintbox-y. This is the problem with a definite plan...it invariably falls apart. Back to the mire...