Ridiculous idea? Heck no, this was a stroke of genius! I think the quilt is awesome and you executed it to perfection. I especially love the embroidered tree and that you hand embroidered over all the signatures to preserve them. What a fabulous snapshot of your family history you have created. Can you imagine how thrilling it would be for a family member to discover this quilt 100 years from now?
It also looks like many of your family members got very creative with how they applied the paint to their hands to make the handprint. Ooh edited to add I just saw your photos of the event, it looks like everyone had a lot of fun with this. So many good memories wrapped up in one quilt.