"Time of Your Life" - Challenge Quilt

Oh my goodness...I have had quite a frustrating day with Blogger today. I have heard about the problems other people have had, but this is my first experience with it.
I enjoyed the peace and quiet in my house today since the children are back to school. I spent time thinking about my New Years Resolutions/Goals, both personal and quilting related. Two of my quilting goals are: to set aside time once a month to have a "try something new day". I have lots of ideas, but don't give myself to time to just play and experiment. The second goal is to finish the challenges issued in my two online groups - on time!
This is my last quilt of 2006, which was a challenge piece that fit into two of my group themes
1) to make a quilt based on a song and 2) to make an abstract quilt based on the theme of "marriage". I chose a Green Day song that my son likes to play on the guitar called "Time of your life".
Some of my favorite lyrics are:
So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time ...
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
In the centre of the quilt I put a photo transfer of our hands/rings on our wedding day, as a symbol of our commitment and enduring bond. Around it I made a "clock" of grey and maroon (colours from our wedding) shapes from light to dark, symbolizing the time that is passing, from our newlywed light and carefree days to our darker days in later life, facing the regular life challenges that everyone has. I machine quilted with Yanmet thread, which is a beautiful thread that I love for machine work. It is sparkly and rarely breaks, no matter how fast I quilt. I had purchased many beads and embellishments for this quilt, but much to my annoyance, the cheeky quilt refused to let me use most of them! It did allow the 12 bicone swarovski crystals around the photo and a simple beaded binding. On the right is a close-up photo of the beaded binding based on an idea from one of my favorite books "Beading Basics" by Mary Stori. The quilt measures 9.5" x 10.5" and will be hanging as part of a group exhibit in Nebraska September 2007.