"Ooooh! What kind of quilt is it?" "Overambitious."

My good friend and honorary big sis Gwen was getting married, and I wanted to do something really special for a wedding present. Thus:


Isn't it pretty?? And absolutely perfect for them.

I should mention at this point that the skill level listed for this pattern was "Advanced, or a VERY DETERMINED beginner." I decided I could be VERY DETERMINED. However, what I neglected to realize was that this quilt consists of three hundred very complex blocks (paper-piecing For The Win!) that turned out to take me at least an hour each. I didn't get the pattern until three months before the wedding... and I'd have to work six hours a day on it to finish it in time.

Oops.

So now I'm shooting for the first anniversary. :P Not that I regret picking that particular pattern; by the time it's done it will be gorgeous, and Gwen and Hongyi are worth it. However, I draw the line at hand-quilting. I don't love them that much.

On to the construction details:
This is a queen-sized quilt, and therefore uses a crapton of fabric. Look at all the pretty colors!!

(Bother. Where did my pictures of the yellow set go?)

Each block is paper-pieced. Paper piecing rocks. It means I can do absurd blocks like this:


without having to be stupidly obsessive about cutting everything just so (and then crying when, despite my best efforts, I didn't get it quite right and the blocks won't go together.) Not that I don't try:

Bag of pieces waiting to be trimmed to size

I would like to put in a good word at this point for equiltpatterns.com. A huge selection of awesome art quilts and blocks, and very clear, well-written patterns. That pattern cost me, what, $6? Downloadable as a PDF, too, which is essential since I have to print out a pattern piece for each block I make. 'Cause I'm doing this:






And then I end up with these:









I'm totally making progress! Really I am!