Closer, thanks to a friend that lives far away

Do you remember my quilt made from charm squares?  Well, when I asked for input on how I should proceed, I also received a most generous offer from my sweet friend, Nicolette.  Amazingly, she also had purchased the exact charm pack years ago and said she could send me some of hers so that I could make my quilt larger.  Grateful, I accepted her kind offer.

A week ago, the charms from Nicolette arrived.  Excited as I was, imagine my surprise in finding even more in that packet.   She sent me some divine linen (it's so much finer than what I have been working with - it's as soft as a dream...) and she included the most adorable fabric die cuts.  Cute puppies, kitties, birds and hearts.  I can't decide if they will become fabric cards or be used in a quilt. 

Thank you, Nicolette!

I used all but one of the charms from Nicolette for the quilt top.  The last charm was incorporated into the piece-y strip (it's in the foreground of the above photo) I sewed for the quilt back.

This is where I'm currently at with my quilt.  It's pinned (my least favourite part in the whole process of quilting) and awaits my decision on how I will machine quilt it.  I'm trying to stretch myself with each quilt I make.  The easiest fastest default way to quilt this would be to stipple it, but I'm not going to.  I'm working on coming up with a free motion design that will be light, airy and dainty (trying to keep in mind the scale and delicate prints used in the quilt). That's the hope anyways. Fingers crossed.  At least I'm much closer to finishing this.