June finally finished!

I think I am finished with June's BJP. I wish now that I would have kept track of how many hours I spent creating it. It took much longer than I anticipated and I am questionning the wisdom of chosing such a large size for a monthly beaded project!
Here it is - I am calling it "Celebration". Looking at it in this photo, it doesn't look anything like I think it does in real life. I guess having it so close to my nose for so long, makes it look different when viewed through the distance of the camera!
Swirls are lots of fun to quilt, but not as much fun to bead! Perhaps it was the particular type of bead I used that made it challenging...I have beaded spirals before (such as on this quilt) that were not this challenging.
The beading seems "finished" but the "finishing" isn't done. I am debating whether to add a traditional binding or a beaded binding or no binding. As a quilter, it just doesn't seem to be finished without a binding. I'll think on that a little longer.
I collected some shells that may want to go on my July piece, and am going to start washing and sorting the shells tomorrow. I am excited to start something new!

Finishing Update: I decided to make a beaded edge on all my BJP pieces. I hand stitched the beaded top and batting to the backing fabric. Then I turned the edges 1/4" under and slip stitched them together. Finally I added a single line of beading all around. Then I noticed a new problem. I didn't realize how much the quilting and beading would pull the piece in and so the pencil edge that I had used as my size guide was very visible along the right hand side. Also, the quilting didn't go all the way to the edge...just to the pencil line! Hmmm...what to do?? Then I found these wonderful Gutermann heart sequins (they have a great line of assorted shaped sequins) and decided to sew a line of hearts along the right hand side of the piece to cover up the pencil line. I experimented with how many hearts were needed to cover the line and which colours would enhance and not distract too much from the centre design. I was very happy with the outcome of this little fixer-upper!

So now the June BJP is truly finished. The only thing that I really don't like now is how the top left edge curves down, but I decided that since it was my first one, and a learning experience, that I would leave it as it is. We are all "works in progress" and are never perfect! The important thing is to learn from our mistakes!

For the next months, I would like to try different beaded edgings, since this first one is quite a basic bead stitch.