coffeecozy, I love the look of the gold stitching on the black background, but I knew I didn't want to use black - so I decided to try the gold with black stitching. I had some similar colored gold fabric and messed around with it and decided I liked the look. I'm a "fall" color type person - I also don't like "hearts" as a design element, so I'm going with colors that do de-emphasize the heart motif a bit. I'm hoping I end up with a quilt I want to keep for myself. I knew that if I went black/bold, I wouldn't want to keep it. I already know the green/beige will be for someone else, it strikes me as too "lucky four leaf clover" but I'm sure I'll find someone that will love it.