I love your little cottages. They are charming. You didn't mention handquilting. Your project is small enough that you could try your hand at it and might fall in love. All you need is an embroidery frame either a wooden one or one of the PCP type ones. They sell either in any Joanns and many WAlmarts. You can baste the layers of back, batting and top together with safety pins and you have a perfectly portable project. The nice thing about handquilting is that it is so easy to remove if you don't like the results. You don't need a machine just a needle and thread and a comfy chair. You can watch TV or carry on a conversation with family or friends while you quilt. As a first project It might take you a while but unless you have a deadline what is the rush?
I would stitch just outside the ditch around the cottages and the details of the cottages. Echoing that stitching between a 1/2" and an inch around each of the cottages would really make them pop. Again if you make a mistake the stitches are easy to remove and redo without fear of tearing or cutting the top. Just unthread the needle and use the eye end to pick out the bad stitches.
What ever way you decide to go please show us the finished project.