My first quilt was a king, because noone told me I should start small (picture attached). :) I did quilt it by hand. I have done several bed sized quilts since then, all machine quilted, and the quilting is basically the same as with small quilts. Most of the time I do some SID to "anchor" it then I proceed to FMQ some kind of design. Almost all my early quilts were strictly SID, have only recently learned to FMQ. I do not pin baste, all are spray basted.
I understand your hesitancy because I still haven't worked up the courage to try feathers on an actual quilt. Still drawing them on white board. We both need to get over our fear of the next step. :roll: