Hi Jess. Really cute Halloween cat quilt! I have a similar project I have been trying to quilt and have the same issues you are running into. Mine is a Fall Harvest quilt with a black fabric backing. I started out my quilting by outlining all the primary shapes and border seams with black thread using my walking foot where I could. This helped to stabilze the quilt and then I started working on trying to outline the smaller shapes in the panel and borders like the leaves, trees, acorns, pumpkins etc. I had to do those smaller shapes by FMQ so it was good practice for me. I still need to decide how to quilt the large open spaces I have left like the grass, sky and larger border strips. I have put this project on hold until I get more time to practice FMQ using free hand patterns.
I would suggest you think about starting your quilting with straight stitching the border seamlines and diamond shapes using your walking foot. Then you might try a little FMQ outline stitching around the cats, tree, pumpkins etc. You could do some stipple or slightly wavy lines through the grass area. It might be cool to try outlining the stars in the treetop and then do an echo quilt pattern around the stars in the purple sky area or just do a simple stipple or breezy lines through the sky. It really is whatever appeals to you and makes it fun.
I have mostly used black thread on my project but did switch to a golden thread for outlining the leaves in the border which shows up nicely on the black backing. I started out using a bright orange to outline the pumpkins but am thinking I may take that out and redo it with the black. I think it stands out a little too much on the backing. Just experiment and have fun with it! :icon_bigsmile:
Attachment 3921Attachment 3922Attachment 3923Attachment 3924Attachment 3925Attachment 3926