What a pretty quilt! I love the colors! :)
Did you hand applique the hearts? If you like that look, but want a quicker result here's something to try. Draw the shape onto the paper side of a paper backed fusible, wonder under, heat-n-bond lite, etc. Cut a 1/4 inch or so beyond your finished line (this will be trimmed after you fuse it to the fabric). Before you fuse it to the fabric, cut out the middle, just leaving a 1/2 inch or so of the fusible. Iron to the wrong side of the fabric, then trim on your line. Place and press to your background fabric. This fuses just the edges, leaving the center soft like a hand applique. Once you sew around the edges, it doesn't look fused! If you are appliqueing a square, you can use 1/2" wide fusible tape instead and just apply it to the perimiter of the shape.
I hope I've explained it well. If not, let me know and I'll try to do a sample with pics.