Thank you all for the kudos and useful input- i really am learning so much from you all on the board and the suggestion of "soft fuse"
To group answer some of your questions: I worked on this quilt off and on for about six months. My goal for myself was 3-4 blocks a month- depending on how intricate each block was and how much I changed the original pattern. Then I set a goal of one month to do all the borders and one month to quilt. I did some ripping as I was learning to FMQ. The raw edge is zig zagged with invisible thread using two sizes of stitch.
Again thanks for looking...Laura