SF Quilters Guild Show Challenge 2019

This has so far only been announced within the Guild, but the topic for the Challenge Quilts for the 2019 Show is to be "San Francisco". As soon as I heard this I had an idea.

When I was in Tokyo I used to love the manhole covers.

I collected them in a little album on Flickr.

I only collected 15 but there are albums of many more than that. So when I came to SF I kept an eye out. There weren't many interesting ones but I started seeing this one in a few places.

When I heard of the challenge, and with Mel Beach's Magnificant Mandala Class so recent in my memory, you can understand my thinking. This is what I made in Mel's class.

My first thought was to make a mandala based on the manhole cover. But then I thought about how well it would lend itself to EPP (english paper piecing). Hexagons are my absolute favourite shape generally as well as in EPP. And I feel more comfortable madala'ing with curves rather than straight edges. But...the challenge quilt isn't due until at least February so I'll have to see what my mind tends towards in the meantime.