Love your quilt and the colors are gorgeous. Personally, I would leave the binding in. It is, afterall, your first quilt.
Bindings have always seemed to be my downfall. Since I found this tutorial on Connecting Threads, I think my bindings have improved. So, I thought I would share it with you. I just took it really slow the first time with the directions written down, sitting in front of me. Sometimes I have to talk myself through things the first time. Hope this helps. :-D
http://www.connectingthreads.com/tut...ideo__D43.html