I hope things are going well for your and your husband. As far as "finishing" your first quilt, it's EXTREMELY hard to work with AND finish a quilt that you don't like the fabrics or the colors. I would set it aside and work with the fabrics/colors that have "caught" your attention. I would also machine quilt it, although I do have 2 king size tops done that I THINK I would like to hand quilt, they've been waiting for around 3 years, have the batting cut and the backing ready, just haven't had the time.