Trip Around the World Wedding Quilt

A few months ago I posted in the quilting discussion boards, asking for some options on a Trip around the World quilt, for my best friend's wedding.  (You can see the post here: Opinions Needed - Trip Around the World Quilt  Thank you to all the kind ladies who offered opinions and advice!)

In the end I decided to go with the 10 color option, and I am really pleased with how it came out.  Especially since I finished it a whole MONTH before the wedding!  The pattern is a classic, called the Trip Around the World, chosen because of my friend's love of travel, and partially inspired by a poem that was read at my wedding.  Each fabric is indicative of a place/environment on earth, many of which relate to the very different places that Alison, her fiance, and I all grew up.

Purple - Migrating Cranes for Alison's graduate thesis in costume design, Madame Butterfly, which took place in Japan.
Arctic Blue - Abstracted Mountains for the icy cold poles that only the bravest travelers visit.
Mallard - Quiet Waters for the tropical islands we imagined running away to during grad school.
Hunter Green - Forrest Dreams for the forests in the Pacific Northwest where they now live.
Leaf Green - Meadow Grass for the Midwestern prairie where her fiance, Dan, grew up.
Saddle Tan - Jazzy Zebra Stripes for Africa, where Dan served in the Peace Corps.
Squash Gold - Forest Ferns for the fall foliage where I grew up in New England.
Cinnamon - Tonal Crackle for the south western desert where Alison grew up.
Wine - Sunset Ginkgo Leaves to represent Asia.
Deep Garnet - Lavish Woodgrain as a solid frame to build their life together.

This is the poem that helped inspire the quilt, by Wendy Paris:

I want to go everywhere with you. 
I want to go to Italy and Israel and down the street.
I want to lie on a raft under the sun in the South Pacific with you and float and float and float.
I want to go to the tallest building on the highest mountain, in the biggest city.
And I want to go up on the roof with you and look around.
I want us to pool our talents and pool our resources and create together, that which we have not been able to create independently, alone.
And I want you in smaller ways, too, right here, holding my hand and kissing me.

The center is quilted with 4 hearts.  The rest is just crazy free-motion quilting.  The backing is a warm chocolate brown, with the same brown thread used for quilting it.  I really like how the brown blended right into all those jewel tones.