I personally think that the quilt is beautiful, nice contrast and I like the frame around the star block. I know a lot of people are not fans of SID, you could do that around the stars and blocks, then hand quilt around the Carpenter's square. I am pretty much a self-taught machine quilter, except for one class. Early in my quilting days I had made a king size quilt - 110"x110", with pieced basket blocks set on point. There were 4 basket blocks in the center, then I put plain blue squares around it, which I quilted in a feathered wreath, but the remaining blocks were SID. I did this all on my Kenmore sewing machine, as there was no one to tell me that it couldn't be done. I still have that quilt although it has been replaced with another quilt. If you don't feel that you want to do all the quilting yourself, it is still a quilt made by you for your sister and her hubby, and even if you send it out to be quilted, it will still be your quilt.