Originally Posted by
Halo
I, too, think turquoise would look fantastic to tie it with. You could also just stitch 1/2 inch around each picture block. That wouldn't take long to do & then tie in between each block also. I think that would really make the pictures pop. It is a beautiful quilt & your dear friend will treasure it forever.
I would suggest adding a narrow border of the turquoise to bring the eye to the edge, then birth the quilt, and stitch in the ditch around the border so it looks like binding. (Its fast and easy to do but faux binding gives such a finished look.) Then stitch around each picture to make them stand out as Halo suggested. Then I'd tie it with purple or machine tack it.
Its a beautiful quilt and you are a beautiful friend!