Debra,
Since I'm pretty much quilt deaf also, the only thing I could suggest
is to, perhaps, hand quilt around the little characters in the blocks. That
would make them "pop out" a little.
Just a quick, random thought that just might not work for you. (Hands
up in the air, not really knowing how to listen to a quilt either!)
Marlys in Indiana

"Debra" wrote in message
...
Yesterday I attempted to solve a thread breakage problem with my new
sewing machine so I could use it again. I had been using my machine's
problem to put off my first try at machine quilting, but I decided it
was time to get over my worries. I did several things to the machine
and nothing seemed to help. Frustrated that it was still not working
right I called Mom, the machine guru, to come over, and as soon as DH
let her in the door the machine made a final soft clunk and suddenly
began working correctly. Every stitch test run I made went smooth as
glass. Mom claimed it was the old "call the mechanic and the machine
will fix itself" magic. I'm just happy it's fixed.

While she was there I got out the walking foot, put it on, and tested
it with a folded piece of muslin. The test strip went through it like
a hot knife through butter and all the stitches were perfect! Yay!
Now most folks might practice a bit before starting on an actual
quilt, but I'm not most folks and my Pebbles and Bam Bam lap quilt is
mostly an experiment anyway, so I just jumped right in with both feet.

Many of you have said a quilt top will tell you what kind of designs
it wants to have quilted on it. Well either I'm quilt deaf or this
top isn't speaking. I simply did a SITD on both sides of the pink
frames of the blocks. Two hours later I had all the lines in one
direction done and had a good start on the other direction too. I
took a break and clipped threads while watching "Dirty Jobs" on TV. I
finished quilting all the lines, clipped the rest of the threads, and
removed the basting tacks by midnight. I will admit I did a little
dancing at that point.

Now I have to trim and bind the edges. I don't think that will be a
problem at all. But I do have one little problem. Although I don't
have to put any quilting in the center of the blocks because the
centers are about 8 inches and the batting only requires quilting
every ten inches, the unquilted space seems to be asking for something
more. But remember, I am quilt deaf. I don't know what to put there,
but I have a few ideas and would like some input. I could continue
with machine quilting and simply run diagonal lines both ways across
the Pebbles and Bam Bam cloth, or I could draw a square within each
block echoing the square framing. I'd rather hand quilt something a
little more interesting, but what? I'd love some ideas if anyone has
one. The Pebbles and Bam Bam top is in my webshots album if you would
like to see it.

Thanks for reading.

Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere