What am I, Crazy?

So I've been stressing a little about the many concurrent projects I've been working on - some with deadlines, some a little more open-ended. So what do I do? I signed up for another!

Here's how I rationalized it: 

1) I can use up some of my vast fabric stash. 

2) It's for a good cause - a fundraiser. 

3) It's not a huge quilt, so it should go fairly quickly. 

4) If it turns out, maybe it can become someone's Christmas gift.

Click on the pink flower to visit Heather's website for more information about this project. The Mystery Quilt project is offered twice per year. A Facebook group allows many of the participants to share their fabric selections and progress photos.

I honestly have no idea where I saw the original link that pointed me to this project. Maybe it was on a blog post somewhere, maybe Facebook. But wherever it was, it took me to an Heather Spence's Etsy page, where for $15 I could sign up for the project:

Heather's program is a fundraiser to help cancer patients pay their medical bills. This fall she is offering one quilt in a 'beginner' or 'advanced' style. The first of five "clues" will be sent via email on October 5th. Each clue includes steps to finish the quilt. The quilt is in the modern style, using only squares and rectangles made up of three fabrics. The beginner quilt finishes at 62 X 62 inches and the advanced quilt finishes at 63 X 63. The advanced quilt is a variation of the beginner quilt.

The name of the quilt is "Jack of Hearts" named after our little recipient, Jack (who just turned 5). A very large tumor was found in his brain in April of 2012. Jack had surgery in May to remove the tumor, which was found to be benign. He is undergoing therapies to help bring back motor function. More info in Jack can be found at www.helpjack.org.  

The first fabrics I chose were entirely from my stash. I'd kind of hoped for a slightly darker tan, but this should do. I've done the cutting, and have started sewing as the clue directed.

It went pretty fast so I decided to pick more fabrics from my stashm except that I didn't have a "dark" color that went with the floral and the yellow, so I had to buy a bit more. And a new cutting mat.