when i was a newbie, i found that echo quilting was quite effective

I did patchwork for years but not quilting because I found it difficult (or so I thought). Then I discovered the meandering and wonderful crinkle effect it creates after the quilt is washed. Up until recently I did not even know that batting had recommended quilting width. I am still in love with meandering because there are no mistakes, at least not glaring ones, and it looks so cool.

I do a wide meandering, staying within the requirements of the batting, but not quilting so close that it takes forever. The last 60" x 60" quilt only took me about 5 hours to quilt.

different battings require different amounts of quilting- some need to be quilted every 2" (quite dense) others allow up to 10" apart- and everything inbetween-
it is a personal choice how much quilting you like-lots or little- it is important to choose a batting that meets the desired amount- if you want to tie your quilt or do very little quilting choose a batting that allows up to 10" between quilting lines- if you like a bit more choose one that needs every 4-6"- if you like dense quilting choose one that needs to be quilted every 2"...it is all a personal choice and really dependant on the individual project- i've made some heavily quilted quilts- i've also made some with very little/just enough- each project is different & requires it's own design. i long-arm and have many customers who do not really want heavily - every inch quilted quilting- they prefer large- meandering designs that do not detract from the quilt itself.

Ditto. ~:thumbup:~

I absolutely love the looks of well done quilted quilts, but for me, I want much less. My meanders are at least two fingers wide and that's fine with me. My favorite so far is to meander in one block and a pattern like a star or flower in the alternate block. Most of my battings are 4" apart ones, so I'm good there.

I totally agree. Sometimes the quilting is so dense, you can hardly make out what the piecing is supposed to look like.
My quilts are quilted by me on my Bernina 153 QE. I do enough to keep the batting from shifting and hopefully to accent the quilt. Stippling is probably what I do the most, although I have done some fancier designs on fancier quilts.
Ultimately, it's what you like, not someone else's ideas about what is right.

I could not agree more. I am a minimalist quilter. I think too much makes the quilt too hard and detracts from the fabric and the design.

Having said that it is your quilt you do what suits you and you like.

I found when I FAQ I like stars and swirls. They were really easy for me. I don't like dense quilting either, so I try to space out the quilting.

I hand quilt so I do echo quilting around each block.