My Puple Passion Sampler Quilt

I took my first quilting class in April. We were to do Elizabeth's sampler with a few blocked swapped out. It was to be 9 12" blocks and 4 6.5" blocks with border, dashing. I picked my fabrics and started the first class and decided that I would probably not use such a small quilt anywhere, so I decided to expand it. Without a plan, I started making more of the blocks I liked, but then realized I wanted some kind of order and symmetry. So I pulled out the squared paper, and made a mock up plan with measurements. It ended up being 49 12" blocks (7 rows x 7 rows) with a border. Pretty ambitious for a first quilt. So between classes, I sewed like a mad woman, but that was ok since the weather was too wet or humid to do anything outdoors. I finished the top by my last class on June 3rd. I found the backing on a road trip and had it quilted by a local LAQ. I love it. I am almost finished hand sewing the binding and it should be ready for cooler fall-winter months. I also plan to make two truponto style pillow shams. This is the top only without border. I will post other finished pictures soon.