Finishing before the required date is certainly allowed. I believe I have to wait until the closing date (12/15/2011) before I make matches; I'll check with Patrice as this information is not in the instructions. Mm... yeah, let me check on that right away. Cuz I bet some of us would like to start our quilts now. (The late date is due to the fact that most people who expressed initial interest said they couldn't start until after the holidays.)