I'm in somewhat the same situation. My friend's quilt is now 2 years past the time I intended to have it ready for her. Partly because I bit off more than I could chew as a new quilter and tried something beyond my skill level and had to take it all apart and start over. Once I got going on it the second time around, I'm actually enjoying working on it! And I learned a number of valuable things while working on it. She has been very understanding as she is working and going to school and has two kids, so she knows first hand about not getting everything done in the time frame originally intended.
Hopefully your friend will be equally understanding if you don't just hop on the project super fast and finish it quickly.