Ashley, A woman after my own heart. I make a lot of Linus quilts but they are a simple childish print layered with batting and a flannel back. I then machine quilt them just enough to hold up to laundering. I do use colorful, often varigated thread and a decorative stitch.
My most favorite thing is the handquilting. For several years I was a handquilter for hire. Alas the long armers have put me out of business. Everyone is in a hurry. I can usually quilt a bed size quilt in six weeks or a little more depending on the size. My favoriate quilt to make is a wholecloth , premarked tone on tone or white on white. I have made a number of them.