How Would You Quilt this?

Many years ago, I hand-pieced this HUGE quilt. It’s pictured on a queen-size bed and hangs over the sides about 18″.

I am hand-quilting the entire thing myself, so it is a work-in-progress, for sure. I like using a hoop because it’s totally portable.

I am stitching-in-the-ditch around each of the units that make up the Drunkard’s Path blocks. I really like the way that makes each piece stand out.

And I’ve stitched -in-the-ditch around each flower and quilted a line 1/4″ inside each hexagon..

My dilemma is quilting in the open spaces around the Grandmother’s Flower Garden blocks.

I had originally decided to do concentric rounded squares.

But, I quilted one square with that pattern and hated it. The rounded squares looked completely out of place and did nothing to enhance the flower. I picked out all of those tiny stitches! UGH!

So, I’ve been trying out some different quilting patterns to see which I like best.

I used some kitchen plastic wrap, the kind with a sticky back that you can finger-press it around the edges of the bowl and it stays. I laid that over the block and doodled with a fine-point marker.

Here’s one idea. Concentric hexagons.

Or, I thought I’d continue the hexagons of the Grandmother’s Flower Garden, making a sort of honeycomb effect. And, I thought about adding a line of stitching 1/4″ inside the drawn hexagons, but, I don’t know, that just doesn’t really appeal to me.

Would you stop the design at the edges of the block? I thought about continuing it to the edges of the Drunkard’s Path pieces, but it may bug me if the hexagons don’t fit together when they meet at the pieces. I do not want to pick all of those stitches out!!!!!