enjoying the process

I usually enjoy every stage of quilt making (well, except basting, which is a bit of a pain).
But the quilt I'm making for my best friend might just be a tiny bit more enjoyable than usual.
So I hope you'll understand my need to share it with you.
I started with designing a quilt with blocks heavily influenced by the abacus block I'd seen here.  (Apparently there had been a tutorial, but the link was no longer active.)
I began in the cool modern way, using EQ7 to come up with three blocks:

and a way of combining them and arranging the fabrics so that after some adjustments it ended up as a kind of reflected rainbow: 

 

And then I proceeded to the equally cool old school notebook method, to note down all the sizes I had to cut from each fabric:

It's been fun to cut - especially the colourful pieces:

and to sew the blocks:

The quilt top is ready now, but I think that's enough photos for one post (not to mention that I still have to take at least a half decent photo of it).