I am so sorry about your husband lost his job. But hopefully he will be able to find something quickly. I am going thru trying to pull fabric to do my Judy Niemeyer quilt.
Can you post picture of your japanese yakuta fabric??. Maybe I have and others would have some pieces that would work. I wouldn't use any gauzy muslin. Judy's quilts are quite costly to make with the cost of the pattern, fabric and YOUR time. I would do a test block of which ever pattern of Judy you are going to be making. Good Luck.