need advice please - finishing a quilt for a friend
 

I am finishing a quilt for a friend who's mother started this about 15 years ago...the mother passed away in 2007 and he asked me to finish this for him. The top you see in the picture was already completed. I making the "sandwich". I have sewn around the outside of each block to stabilize the top to the backing.

My question is...would you leave the plain white blocks as they are or possibly add something to them, however I am concerned if I do that it will take away from the tractors she has embroidered in every other block.

It's hard to see in the photo, but there is an 8" white border around the outside, I was thinking of adding a stencil type decoration on the border in red or green thread to match the tractors.
I would appreciate your opinions please. I am using a standard Janome machine with a 7" throat, so I don't have a lot of room to work with. This is laid on our queen size bed for photo purposes.

Thanks in advance.

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I'd leave the white squares plain. And I'd stitch in the ditch. That would be leaving it as much as possible to the original design. If you think about anything else, maybe you should speak with your friend and let him think about it for a while so he doesn't just say, " Whatever ..."

Personally, I think the white blocks need something....maybe a cross-hatch...nothing fancy though...

Maybe just an x/diagonal from corner to corner in the plain white squares?

Plowed Furrows - straight lines running horizontally for the plain blocks.

It is always difficult to finish someone else's quilt since we have no idea what their plan was. I can't count how many quilts started one way and I changed my mind mid way or even at the end. This quilt is very "flat" and does not jump out where the tractors now get lost in the white. Even a red or black SITD could help them spring out a bit. Give a few ideas to your friend let him think on it for a bit. There is no hurry since it has been incomplete for all these year. You will get it just right. Be confident that it will be just how he envisions his mom had it in her mind .

I would echo a single line about a fourth of an inch around each tractor to stabilize those blocks and make them stand out. Then cross hatch the plain squares to stabilize those. I think you are right about not upstaging the tractor blocks. By adding a quilted line you are enhancing them not detracting from them.

I would definitely add more quilting. It stabilizes everything and helps avoid real problems later with washing and drying.

I am often curious where the idea that quilting will detract from other elements of the quilt. That quilt definitely needs additional quilting both in the embroidered tractor blocks and in the plain blocks. If you use a white thread that blends with the fabric it will enhance the quilt as well as reinforce it and make it more durable. I agree with juliasb that the embroidered tractors are lost in that massive sea of white with nothing to break up all that negative space.

I think quilting in both the tractor blocks and the plain blocks would not only bring the embroidery to the forefront, it would look much better. Here is a visual example of an embroidered quilt I did several years ago showing before and after pics of each block so you can see what I am talking about.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictur...g-t261317.html

https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictur...d-t262627.html

Obviously what I did would not fit that quilt but you definitely need something. I do like the idea of doing straight line quilting to resemble the tractor furrows. Maybe do them going horizontal in the tractor blocks and vertical in the plain blocks. Here is a link to a google search of clip art tractor tracks to get your creative juices flowing. https://www.google.com/search?tbm=is...&bih=753&dpr=1

Another option is to do crops in the plain blocks. Ears of corn, sheafs of wheat, that idea. Quilts with this much negative space need quilting. If done densely enough you will be able to take up the extra fabric that has resulted in the ditch work stablizing. Use a walking foot if you are not comfortable doing FMQ

I think it definitely needs more quilting in the squares and definitely something on the borders. Don't have any good suggestions though - this is the part I struggle the most with.

I would quilt circles to represent the wheels of the tractor in the blank squares. The quilt has enough straight lines in it.

I would put something farm related such as corn, or wheat. Use only thread that matches the white so that it is a secondardy pattern. Do it as a white work quilting effect. I use Bing as a search engine and searched for Line drawings of farm items. The simpler the better. https://www.bing.com/search?q=line+d...5f36a93a9b329a

Some of us are not particularly gifted when it comes to the quilting. I'm one of them, the piecing and planning is what I love. Can't draw to save my life. Just do not think in the 3D options of quilting. Plus, I'm just not a fan of the current style of dense quilting, I prefer a puffier batt and less quilting. My skills are getting adequate, with access to a long arm I can do quite a bit once we get the design challenge out of the way. Unfortunately, I don't have access to a long arm right now and I'm learning what to do with modern deep throat machine instead of my little old vintage Remington.

I'd keep it simple, especially with the throat size of your machine. I like the furrows idea of straight rows but I would probably alternate them, going horizontal with the tractors in one row and then vertical the other set of columns. I'd keep the thread white/matching the top including in the borders.

Even with my trusty old vintage machine I could do fancier stuff on the borders. I have vision issues and often draw my designs on parchment (not freezer) paper (dollar store carries 1x25' rolls) and then quilt through the paper which is held in place by strategically placed safety pins. Yes, you have to peel off the designs but to get a fancy border from someone who can't draw or see well, it can be pretty impressive!

Being drawing challenged I will sometimes buy pantographs. The parchment paper can be used to trace over them, in fact later today I'll be preparing the borders for my next quilting project this way. Pantographs and prepared paper patterns give me consistency that I lack, as well as show me what someone else considers a reasonable amount of quilting (which does depend on your batting).

I did a search on "farm quilting pantograph" and got some cool options.

Feline Fanatic: Great visual sample. Your quilt is beautiful, and you are so right, the quilting makes the embroidery Pop. Giving the birds and branches/leaves dimension, instead of them looking flat and lifeless.

I like Tartan's idea. maybe add a bit of green or red for binding, not much else color wise.

How about horizontal channel(evenly spaced) quilting in the plain blocks. These would be a 'suggestion' of planted 'rows' that the tractors would make.

Oh, I love Felinefanatic's work. I think the quilt would pick that beautiful work up and the man would love it too. It really needs some work to keep it from going apart. Whatever you do, he will be glad.

Having been raised on a farm and actively farming with my husband all these years (I am now 70 and still drive the combine) I would go with the plowed furrow suggestion by my-ty. That is what a freshly planted field looks like before the corn or beans come up. Then share that with the person receiving the quilt. It will be much more meaningful. I also agree you need more quilting in tractor squares. What about just doing an echo stitch 1/“ away from tractor and another line of stitching 1/4” away from edge of block.

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.

Great job on the finished quilt. I can see why he is pleased!

What a great finish! I'm so proud of you to take out stitching, that is sometimes a necessary last resort.

I'm sure your friend will treasure this memory from his mama -- as well as your contribution :)

Very nice finish and I love the way you quilted the plain white blocks. That is quite a treasure for your friend and you can be very proud of your work too.

It looks great!!! You have to be pleased with a job well done!!!

Dina

You've done a great job finishing the quilt for your friend! I like the diamonds in the white squares and your baptist fans in the center block. Outlining the tractors alows them to stand out. It will definitely be a family treasure.