Candle Mat

I joined the "Candle Mat Swap" at the Quilting Gallery and it is so addictive.  So far, I've made three tops.  I needed one for the swap and then thought I'd make myself one.  Then I thought I need some quick little gifts for Christmas and this pattern is perfect!

 The neat thing about this little mat is the size.  It's only 14" square, but has 56 pieces in it.  That sounds pretty daunting, but it adds such excitement.   You can make two mats (tops) with a charm pack and have some left over.

I took a few photos when I made the brown one:

In the first picture you can see I just had the two fabrics in the piano keys.  The second picture I added another green--didn't like it as much.

Then I auditioned a square in the middle of the center.  I liked it, it tied in the corners, but in the end I decided it wouldn't show when the candle was put on it.  So I left it off.  Maybe I'll try that on another mat.

What I love about this pattern is the many different ways you can change the look of it by just changing the fabrics in different places--the corners, center, border  around the center, piano keys.  And that doesn't even count the embellishments you could add, which I haven't ventured into YET!