A Christmas place mat finished

Yesterday, I managed to finish a project (the first installment of it, anyway) that I had started a couple of years ago.  Back in 2010 (I think) I had finished a Christmas table runner, a project I had found in an old magazine.  It was actually from Decorating & Craft Ideas, the December 1980 issue. 

I loved the runner and planned to make the matching place mats.  I actually cut out the 12 petal pieces called for [for one place mat] and got them stitched together, and had cut out the center circle piece.  And there the project has stalled, stacked in a pile of fabric. 

Last week I decided to tackle finishing one place mat.  Here is the result:

The zigzag stitching is far from perfect on this first attempt.  That puckering is completely normal, I see from the magazine photo of the place mat, so I'm not stressing about that one bit.  I am very pleased with how it came out for a first try, and am planning to cut out a second one this week.  In fact, when I investigated further, I found that I had 6 more petal pieces already cut, so there is a head start.  I hope to make either 7 or 9 more place mats, for a total set of 8 or 10.  This project is a real fabric stash buster, so I may be able to hit Jo-Ann's Christmas in July sale this year with a clear conscience!