and i love it, love it, love it! i decided to go with a stripey binding (my first non-solid binding!) and ended up finishing the hand-sewing in one evening, with the help of hulu and episodes of arrested development. that is some funny stuff.
here is a full shot of the quilt top hung on the backstop at the park across the street from my house:
in my head, i usually orient it vertically (not horizontally), but i'm not tall enough to hang it that way for the photo, so you'll just have to turn your head or your monitor.
loopy, loopy quilting. it's quite a mess, but i actually sort of like it that way.
and here is the back (i used a lovely, lightweight dark denim that my grandma gave me from her stash):
i've even tried it out in my car to see if it works (that's my toasty warm feet up on the dash):
it works! too well, in fact. i spent a wee bit too much of my lunch hour admiring the way the sun shines through to the backside when you're cozied up underneath it. it was the perfect weather for trying out a quilt--sunny, but surprisingly chilly.
i haven't yet washed it, and i haven't made the bag that the quilt will get stored in in the car (that's where your block will go, liz), so you may get to see more pictures of this quilt. i am so happy with it! thanks a million for helping me to create this beautiful, funky and soon-to-be-very-well-loved-and-frequently-used quilt!
Here's the guy you made it for. His future is bright! I'm a happy mom that he'll be wrapped in a quilt made by all of us.
The quilt has had a few renditions since I first posted the top. I took it apart a couple of weeks ago and did a redesign. I paired some of the blocks and framed them as pairs for the top section and for the bottom section, framed the blocks individually. 
I really like how the vertical pairs add interest to the quilt and I love how the pairs relate to each other. It's quilted with simple straight lines which I think adds to the modern feel. The quilt fits his double bed perfectly. The back is snuggly, chocolate brown flannel.
Now, for the sad part of the story. I finished the quilt last week in time for graduation on Saturday. I popped it in the washer and when I took it out of the dryer I found one of the blocks had disintegrated. Liz, I'm so sad to say it was your circle block. It didn't have a thing to do with the block's construction because that's not where it ripped. I think it must have caught in the washer and just ripped and ripped. This is the replacement block. I had to take out about a fourth of the quilting and tear the top apart to insert the new block. It wasn't easy, but I'm so happy that I was able to repair it. I had an extra block, but I had already used it to make a pillow sham for him. I didn't want to rip that apart, so I used a block that I had made for a project improv quilt that wasn't in a top yet. It was made from scraps you all sent back, so I think it fits.
Though I'm sad that the quilt isn't the original, I think the washing disaster makes the quilt even more special to me and I hope to Jon. You all did beautiful work and helped me make the perfect quilt for him. Thank you.
