xmas quilt

[twenty6colors.livejournal.com]

oook, so... i don't remember if i posted about this last year or not. i was making my boyfriend this GIGANTIC king-size quilt (he has a queen bed, as do i, but i think king blankets are best on queen beds - no one is fighting in the night over who stole the blanket :P).... but then we broke up.. the day after thanksgiving. i was very upset. i folded what was done of the quilt top, stuffed it in a bag along with the rest of the squares, and threw it into the uppermost shelf of my closet (you know, the one you throw stuff you never want to see again and wont anyway because it's so high you'll need to stand on a chair to get anything down from it) until i was ready to work on it again. well, it's almost a year later... that day never came. i couldn't think of anyone that should get the quilt. it was his and i didn't know what to do about it. it didn't seem like i could rightfully finish it and give it to someone else.... i figured eventually, when i felt ready, i'd finish it and just sell it. well... long story short, 11 months later, as of this week we're back together.

who thinks i can finish it by xmas?? (without quitting my full-time job and isolating myself from everyone i know)

and i'm stumped as to how i should quilt the layers together in a way that would best compliment the pattern... suggestions? i don't want to tie it off and it would have to be machine quilted due to obvious time restrictions.
pics below. also, do you think i should add a border? or not?

half the top is finished (as pictured), 5" squares.




(that last bunch of strips to the left still have to be sewn together)


edit: thanks for all the encouragement! after working on it for the first time in about a year i forgot how fast it goes...