Here’s another post of a project that many of you have already seen, at least in some stage of near completion. (Except for Rebecca. It’s a bummer that we see you so seldom.) These are the placemats I made for Cathy and Chris for Christmas. They are the same pattern as placemats that I made for a wedding present for friends a couple of years ago. I made a trial mat at that time with a miscellaneous collection of blue fabrics that I had in my stash to make sure the whole idea would work (and that I could piece curved seams). I liked the result and kept it. Later I realized that the blues would be good for Cathy and Chris and resolved to make 3 more as a set for them. Just before Thanksgiving, something clicked and I hauled out my stash of blues and started to play. That was the really fun part! I expected to present them with a work-in-progress gift (it has been done before!), and was amazed to discover that several days at the Cute Little House at Thanksgiving time were all that were needed to get the job well on the way to completion. By the way, the placemats are backed with a lovely (I think) dark blue batik, and they are fully reversible, so Cathy and Chris can set a more formal table if they so desire.
I should mention that these have been on our table since Christmas (we’ve washed them, don’t worry!) and they look lovely! The blue really goes well with the yellow walls in the kitchen/dining room. I particularly like the way that the curved pieces sort of define a location for the dinner plate, without being way too obvious about it. And I’m totally impressed by the curved piecing – I will have to try my hand at this sometime soon.