A Rummy Royal Mat

Have you ever played Rummy Royal?  It's a poker/rummy game played with cards, a mat, and poker chips (we like to use pennies reserved specifically for this game). 

Every year my husband's family goes to their cabin in Island Park (Idaho), which is stocked with a bunch of old games.  I think the cabin Rummy Royal game dates back to our grandparents' time.  :)  Either way, we love it and we play it every year (probably because we don't have a game mat of our own back home).  This is what the mat looks like.

This year I joked that I really needed to make us a Rummy Royal mat so we could play more than once a year.  My in-laws joked that they used to have a homemade mat - made from a pizza box!  But the hubby followed up on the idea and suggested that I should seriously make one.  So I did!  It seems like a silly thing to make in quilt form, but I can't wait to play now!

I designed everything myself - apparently there are absolutely no online tutorials for something like this.  Weird.  Although I did use the method explained in the book We Love Color for making the octagon shape (which is genius, by the way).
I quilted the whole thing with closely spaced straight lines and used flannel instead of batting for the inside so that it would lie thinner and flatter.  I appliqued the hearts and letters, which was fun since I've pretty much never done applique. 

For the back I used this print that I bought a long time ago but have never been able to actually use because it doesn't match ANYTHING.  I think it looks a little like cards, don't you?

I tried something a little crazy for the binding.  I decided I wanted each edge of the octagon to be a different color (matching the center) rather than all one color or just random scrappy, so I did some measuring and I think I got it close enough.  I used single fold binding again and sewed it down by hand this time so that it would be less bulky.

Now all I need to do is get someone to play with me!

Working on a quick project was a lot of fun.  However, I have a hard time staying in limbo (it's like finishing a book without having another one lined up to read next) - so my next project is already underway:

ETA:  I've created a listing for Rummy Royal mats on Etsy!  You can get your own mat HERE.
Also, I've been following the "Let's Get Acquainted" Blog Hop for awhile and have decided it's time to link up.  If you're visiting, WELCOME!  Have a look around - I've been busy lately!