Started something new

I promised that I would not start a new project...BUT...the need arose to make a gift. My friend (and hairdresser) is moving to Melbourne Australia. Not only does she look after my hair (a tough task indeed), she has looked after my crazy dog and elusive cat several times. To give you an example of what a kind-hearted person she is - when she was staying at our house while we were away for 2 weeks camping, she welcomed us home with a dinner of homemade gnocchi. She will be missed, and I hope that Melbourne is good to her.

So, as a going away gift, I am making her a quilt (what else?) I have been collecting grey fabric for a while and have recently purchased a few coral/cerise/persimon pieces. I've been conjuring up a quilt in my head for a while, and decided that this was the time to give it a go. Besides the coral fabrics, I've added a bunch of aqua-ish blues from my stash.

Unlike my usually organic process meandering towards a quilt, I planned this one beforehand and cut all of the pieces out first. Usually I cut a little and sew a little, but with only 3 weeks to make this quilt, I knew that an assembly-line approach would be the fastest option.

The block uses some drunkard's path quarter circles, some squares, and some strips to form a leaf-flower motif. I'll make 12 of these 15" blocks and alternate the blue and coral.

So far I've finished all of the coral/grey component squares and am progressing through the blue squares now. Considering that I just started last weekend, I'm doing well. I hope to have it all pieced by this weekend so that I can do the quilting next week. If I slip a little, I have a 1-week buffer. Nothing like a bit of pressure to motivate.

I'm linking up to Freshly Pieced WIP.