More Teacher Ideas

In a previous post, entitled "Back to School Ideas", I made the observation that teachers have lots of mugs so maybe mugs aren't the best gift for a teacher. I suggested a replacement idea of Starbuck's gift cards, but now I think maybe I've found a better idea! After all, what would a person with a plethora of mugs like better than something to sit all those mugs upon? Practical as well as thoughtful! Not to mention with just the right homemade touch. Here's the answer...a mug rug.

In addition to 400+ baby quilts for the pregnancy counseling center, Grandma Della made more crafts than you could shake a stick at. As we've been sorting through her things and trying to find the right home for each, I have discovered more and more little handmade goodies. However, this particular creation spoke to me.

Supplies are basic: plastic canvas, brown yarn, white yarn, and a yarn needle. If you can spell "mug" and "rug" you can probably work out the simple needlepoint pattern. The design for the mug may be a little tricky, but I believe the above photo can be used to work out the number of stitches in each row.

This is just what teachers need. Be warned though, mug rugs are more time-consuming than buying a Starbucks card, so start early and set aside several hours to stitch all the rugs you need for each of the special teachers in your child's life. I'm sure they will be very pleased.

Then again, maybe not. Stick with the Starbuck's card. Especially if I ever happen to be your child's teacher.