Starting a UFO Challenge

Pat Sloan has been inspiring us to get things accomplished. I joined a fun UFO virtual workshop last weekend and finished a complete quilt top over two days as well as other odds and ends that I can't post to my blog yet :-). As part of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Pat is challenging us to finish a project during the Olympics. We have to post a photo of what we plan to work on and there is a chat list that you can post questions, progress and be cheered on.

I made 12 blocks a number of years ago from a block of the month series called "Ode to Aging". I had a FQ of the daisy fabric in my stash and headed for the quilt shop and came up with these batik FQ's:

I purchased the navy blue batik for the sashings and found several bits and pieces of that same line of fabric at a quilt show. Here's the photo I posted on Pat Sloan's challenge as my starting stash. Now to decide what to do with it :-).

Here are all the blocks finished. I have to decide first if I want to set them on point or straight. I think I'll start with laying them out on the actual bed I'm making the quilt for and see what it looks like. It's a double bed and I have 12 blocks, so on point might be better. I'd like to do a pieced border of little squares or something with the bits and pieces.

I was shopping in a local fabric shop last year and found yardage of that daisy fabric and bought a couple metres to use for the border. When I put the fabric on the counter, the cashier said "Wow, that's bright fabric..what are you going to do with that?" There was a huge lineup behind me, and I got some really strange looks when I told her it was for my menopause quilt! She laughed and figured at least I'd have something to look at while I was awake at night with hot flashes ROFLOL!! More looks from the lineup, but this time I think they were getting a little concerned about my sanity. This shop has one of those 'beeper' things at the door so you can't steal things (don't know the technical term for those LOL). When I grabbed my package and walked out of the door, the beeper reacted. I turned around and looked at the cashier and we both burst out laughing hysterically at the same time. "The menopause fabric is having hot flashes," she laughed. Even the guys in the lineup cracked up over that one.

Onward Ho!! The finish line is Feb. 23rd...can she do it??? I'd like to enter this quilt into our local plowing match show in May so I need to get it finished!