When I set out to make myself a new kitchen mat, I knew it would be strictly functional. I wasn’t going to go out and pay money for pretty fabrics that would get destroyed in no time. So I did the economical thing and raided my stash of tiny scraps. I cut out 224 2″ squares, arranged them in color order (kind of), and pieced them all together. I added borders on each end to wided the mat, and then basted together the top, an old towel, and a cheap solid fabric. I used straight lines to quilt by machine. I chose to use the machine because its a floor mat. It needs to be very sturdy, plus, I didn’t want to put all the time of handquilting into a mat that will be on the floor collecting grease, dog hair, water, and who knows what else. There is one other thing I did that I swore I would never do- I did the binding by machine! I said I would never do it. Typically I think machine binding is a shorcut that should not be taken as it is cheating and doesn’t leave a clean, polished look. I know a plethora of people would audibly gasp at my thoughts on that, but hey! I went over to the dark side myself today! I do not think I will be doing it again however (either machine quilting or machine binding) unless it is for a soley utilitarian purpose like this kitchen mat.

I do love the mat! I know I sound so negative describing it, but I’m finding it a wee bit difficult to fully embrace something in which I went against two of my personal fundamentals that I hold to so tightly. I’m sucking it up, and loving that I have a handmade replacement for my Christmas reindeer mat from Target.

Please do leave me a comment and tell me this: do you put all the thought and love that you would normally put into a handmade item when you are working on something that will be purely functional, and like my mat, will be heavy used? I’d love to know what you think!

-Meredith

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