A lovely year of finishes – May goal setting

Since I didn't manage to complete the April goal, and I'm still living between cities, I'm going to try and keep my May goal simple... It seems every time I open a cupboard here to do some clearing out before the move, I find another piece of fabric that I, or a friend or family member, have brought back from overseas. I have pieces from China, Thailand, Peru, East Timor, and many more of uncertain origin. I usually have an item of clothing in mind when I buy the fabric, more often than not a skirt, but this stash below has had me stumped for a while.

A friend of mine brought it back from Peru. I think it's the colourways that have had me baffled. An odd mix of fluorescent solids with dark blue, turquoise, black and liberal use of hot pink stripes! As you would imagine I've been sitting on this for a while...

Then along comes A Lovely Year of Finishes, so one of the challenges I set for myself was to do something with this fabric. The internet is such an amazing resource for inspiration – I think I have a number of half-formed ideas bubbling away now. The first is a Kaffe Fassett-style quilt, with large, quilt-as-you-go squares. I have visions of some kind of embroidered ribbon between the squares.

Inspiration – Interior Design Files via Pinterest

So, my goal for May is to actually design the quilt – figure out the number of squares, decide if I want borders or not, choose the backing fabric, the ribbon and the quilting pattern. I don't have to sew anything but I need to have a plan and a pattern by the end of the month.

Here's how one square looks so far. I'm excited to see how it will all turn out. This is definitely my favourite part of the process – the designing and colour-choosing – oh, and seeing the finished product is pretty good too! What's your favourite part of the quilt-making process? 

Good luck with your May goals everyone!