With that disclaimer out of the way, let's check out my trivets. The first one looks like a mandala in my opinion. The free pattern can be found here. The directions indicate that you should use a CD to fill it, which I didn't do. I was worried about the plastic warping and it seems to be just fine without one. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Although I made it as a trivet, I think that this pattern would work really well as a coaster. It's certainly much better than many of the other 'coaster' patterns I've seen that would probably leak everywhere. I may also explore expanding the size and using the pattern as a small, round purse.
The second trivet I made is of a more traditional style.The directions for it are here. This pattern also requests that you use plastic, in this case plastic drink rings, and I did not. Instead I made six rings by chaining circles and then doing rows of single crochet around those circles before proceeding with the pattern. The result was really sturdy. I also like the understated and classy appearance that the single color lends it as opposed to using multiple colors. The natural beauty of the crochet stitches really comes through.
