I agree with all of the above. Yes, it needs more. I'd outline the tractors and the suggestion of furrows or crosshatching sound good. How about a Baptist fan for the borders to resemble hills and valleys of the fields? I'd use white thread throughout.

I'd do this as a row quilt, so each row of tractors would be combined with quilting to make a row picture - IE have a road in the front that the tractors are on, and maybe with a few roads going off in the white space, then quilt fields behind the tractors, adding some farm scenes in the white blocks- ie barn, animals, farmhouse. With using perspective, you can give the appears of the buildings being off in the distance so they can be a lot smaller scale than the tractors. I think I'd do most of the quilting in white, or pastel shades so the buildings shows up more, but didn't compete with the tractors.

I've been making a lot of machine embroidery blocks, and this discussing has given me some ideas of how to quilt them.

I would make a tractor stencil and us it in the blank squares. Then for the border you could make a stencil of fresh turned/plowed earth and put the tractor on it at the corners and centers. Simple but engaging enough to keep you quilting on it.

I like toverly's idea, but to add a bit of color and a defined border, perhaps a stitch down of regular sized rick-rack between the blocks and possibly a larger size rick-rack of the same color at a strategic point in that large border. It's pretty plain to me and needs more color and definition.

How about an opinion instead of advice? I would roughly outline each picture in the quilt and then do some simple quilting in each plain block. This would keep all of the batting and backing from puffing and shifting. How sweet that he wants to complete it. What a privilege he chose you to do it.

I would sew horizontal and/or vertical rows to represent plowed rows in the fields.

I am not terribly fond of a lot of quilting. I would definitely leave the tractors to plow by themselves but would add furrows as suggested in the white squares. Also would do something on the border. Having done this you could then determine for yourself if you think the tractors need more. Many times I leave the quilt around for a while before i decide if I should do more.

I agree with that suggestion.

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I finished the "tractor" quilt for my friend. I Had sewn around all of the tractors to frame them, but as someone mentioned when I went to quilt it , it would have puckers. So I tore out all of stitching around each tractor and started over. I stitched around each tractor to give it definition...one block at a time, then moved on to the next white block to sew in a diamond pattern on the blocks surrounding the tractors.....it worked out much better! thanks for that suggestion. The owner of the quilt is quite pleased with it. Thanks for all of your advice.

It looks great!

I know that removing that first stitching was a lot of effort - but it was well worth it. It lays much flatter/nicer now.