Agree with above...all those feathers is more than enough......

I would mark the grid, do the other quilting and then make the call whether you really want to add it. I do agree that I am not sure you actually need it.

I think I'll take your suggestions. I'll mark the grid in pencil, quilt the design and see if it needs the background. I hope to have it finished by summer. It's a gift for a dear friend who just had a baby. It will never actually be used, just put away as a future heirloom.

My opinion
 

As a hand quilter I would quilt everything you have marked. That should be more than enough quilting. It will be lovely when it is finished. If you wanted to jazz it up a little use a colored thread so the quilting will be very visible. The important part of hand quilting is to be consistent with the tension of your stitches. With the pattern you have selected the finished quilt should be lovely.

However, I do get your idea that you want the feathers to appear to 'pop out' from the background to give it a 3 dimensional or textured look. To get that you will need to 'quilt down' the background areas. A tiny grid would do it. You must be a very fast quilter. I am impressed!

I agree with Jeanne that you seem to want the feathers to appear to pop out -- sort of like trapunto without the stuffing -- but I'm the dissenting voice for a very close stipple. In handquilting this stipple is quite different from FMQ stippling. It looks almost like tiny commas packed closely together and does flatten the background with good effect.

On this page, 3rd row down, right in the middle of the row....that quilt clearly shows the difference be tween a close grid and a close stipple.
https://www.google.com/search?site=&...76._xpDPP4Ej0c

Can't wait to see your finished project! I will be starting one soon, preprinted - not my own design - and feel I too may want something in that background.

Jan in VA

I'm sure it will be beautiful whichever way you do it. It all looks so complicated to me.....lots of hard work.

I agree with Jan in VA. A close stipple done by hand would really enhance the feathers. I think many of the quilters here may never have seen hand stippling in a quilt; it looks very different from machine stippling!

Jan and Jeanne have described exactly how I want it to look. I just wasn't sure if the stippling would take away from the feathers or a close grid would enhance it better.

I have never quilted by machine and have only ever pieced two tops on the machine. All the rest have been done entirely by hand.
I finished piecing this one May 4th and finished the quilting on the way to the show Sept 19th. Our club hosted Nationals this yr and the quilt was auctioned off for $500. I don't have a finished photo, but I quilted around the center medallion to create a starburst effect and I quilted the rest of the piece 1/4" from the seams.

I really believe any more quilting would hide the feathers, not make them pop. You have done a beautiful job marking this quilt, I can't await to see it completed!!!