Thanks for all the kind words, I really do love it. I am using it as a cheater bed quilt right now but layering it underneath my current bed quilt
As for the minky I was scared to try it too, I have had the top done probably since summer but only quilted it a few weeks ago (then got my mom to do the binding cause I hate hand stitching the binding down). I had purchased an inexpensive minky for the backing of another quilt so decided to try that first before using this precious piece. I found that basting spray did not stick at all, like zero, so I had to use pins to hold it together. I did stitch in the ditch (which I find myself doing a lot as I tend to use very busy fabrics and am afraid anything else will make it too crazy), which meant I was only sewing in straight lines. It really wasn't bad at all to sew with, I think doing a more complicate pattern would cause shifting/stretching problems.
As for the long time projects, because I don't sew super often all of my projects tend to be longer than normal, but I find I appreciate them more after looking at them for a long time. I also would rather wait and find that piece of fabric than settle for something I was unhappy with cause then everytime I looked at it I would know what I wanted it to be!
Again thanks for all the kind words, I love having a place to share my pictures!!