Thank you for the quick responses. It seems the overall consensus is that I should soften the quilt a bit with the quilting. Looking at some meandering patterns (that is what I was trying to say when I said 'large stipple'). I might try practicing a meandering leaf pattern, since the quilt is meant for a nature loving man & I used all the colors of summer in the outdoors in the quilt. If I don't feel like I can get the hang of it in the next week or so, I'll stick to a more basic meander pattern... I'm a bit nervous though. I've only ever tried the meander on potholders. For bigger projects, I've always stuck to in-the-ditch.