OK, this is a quilt that I designed and I am currently in the process of hand quilting it.

It have dragged it all over the country, working on it little by little. Dont know how long it will take to finish, I would sure like to use it on my bed one day...

At any rate, I have quilted about half of the blocks. I have been agonized all this time about what to do in the border. White thread gets lost in the paisley print. So, I thought about using grey. I have done one corner see if I like it.

I love the cable feather pattern, but, I am not sure I like the quilting in the grey thread.. I sometimes think it looks good, then sometimes I think it just looks dirty..

Please share your honest opinions...

Thanks in advance...

Beautiful! What about a dark blue for the thread color? Your stiches are so perfect!!

This is beautiful just the way you are doing it!

Since you've used a lighter thread in the black, why not use black thread in the lighter blue?? Just a thought :)

Dark thread on light looks spidery. Light thread on dark looks elegant. But I do like light grey thread. The dark will make it look white without it looking like teeth that are overbrightened. Put them all on a scrap stitched side by side and that will tell you definitely.

That quilt is so far overgorgeous that I can see why you are taking your time to get it right.

First of all your handquilting is beautiful. You have done a great job on it and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I think it looks fine as is but still not very noticable. If you want the quilting in the border to stand out you may have to go to a very dark navy or black. You could match whatever color is in the dark patches of the quilt.

That said, I am loath to unpick handquilting, especially when there is nothing wrong with it. If it were mine I would just keep going unless it really, really bugged me that the quilting was not very visable.

Thank you for this input.. I actually tried a very dark thread in the light border first and it did, in fact, look very bad.. spidery is a good word for it..That is when I tried the grey..

I dont really need it to have high contrast like the white on dark. My goal is to be able to notice the feathered cable pattern but not be drawn to it on first glance.

One other option I have thought about is to remove the outer border entirely. I dont want it to be too high contrast as the center of the quilt..ie the blocks and quilting in the setting triangles.. is the star.

this is so beautiful, your stitches are perfect. I like the grey it make the design pop with out the color of the thread being overwhelming. Just splendid.

I love it,

WOW!

My goodness that is some beautiful hand quilt work.

Awesome quilt and quilting. I like the gray it enhances the quilt without overpowering it. Just my HHO:-)

I think it's very pretty.

I think it's a beauty, well worth all the effort you're putting into it. This will be a real treasure. Keep going!

I think it looks great and your stitches are amazing.

Sure is pretty.

Gorgeous quilt.

I like the gray and your quilt is fantastic.

Thank you all for your comments...

I guess I will keep going with the grey. There is a point where I will have gone too far to take it out and I cant turn back..

Dont know what that point is, but I think I am close...

Yes, stick with grey - it works and looks awesome

Beautiful

Beautiful/

Beautiful quilt and hand quilting. I think the grey loooks good on the border.

Your quilt is stunning!! Wonderful workmanship!

I don't have any suggestions but my goodness, it is beautiful! Nice work!

I'm glad you are sticking with the gray ,it is lovely! I'm a hand quilter who also drags my quilts everywhere with me. Ain't it great!!

Oh gosh, what a lovely quilt! Your quilting patterns are perfect for it too. Kudos to you! I like the grey in the outer border. You wouldn't want to draw attention away from the center, so the grey accomplishes the job, but doesn't draw all the attention to it. In MHO, it will be gorgeous when finished, heck, it already is!

I stand in awe!!! Love it the way it is!

I think it looks good! I love using gray and cream for quilting.. more subtle than white or black.. and I really think it looks wonderful on your quilt.. I don't think I'd change a thing.. Stunning!!

Gorgeous quilt! I think a dark blue in the border would have been great, but for heaven's sake don't take out all you've done already! I LOVE the cable with the feathers!

Pretty quilt, and your hand quilting is fabulous! I'd keep going. The gray will give you definition without being overpowering. :)

WOW! How wonderful! Your work is beautiful!

What a gorgeous quilt! Your hand quilting is perfect! It looks great! Just keep thinking how great it will look on your bed when you finish!

great job, blue is my favorite color, love it

Stunning.

Oh, that is sooo beautiful! and your quilting is really good. I think a dark blue on the paisley would look nice.

I like the gray - it blends in nicely and doesn't "over power" the rest of the quilt.

I like the colors! And your quilting is great!!!

Instead of neutral with the gray, I would go darker to show off your beautiful quilting stitches...very impressive.

Just right the way it is - keep going - don't change a thing! Your applique, the pattern, the colors, the quilting designs, and especially your hand quilting is beautiful.