meandering can be anything---meandering across your quilt- wavy lines- loop-d-loops, stars, flowers, meandering along.
stippling is when no line touches or crosses.
you can do continuous line designs (where you do not ((see)) the starts/stops) or you can quilt each design individually- which ever you want- it's your project
if you like varigated threads and they are working for you in your machine by all means use them- they add wonderful movement and color to quilts.
it's normal to start in the middle- work out toward one direction- go back to center- work out in another direction- adjust as you go along until it's all quilted...the directions ect are what works for you...everyone does it a little differently- what is comfortable and (do-able) for you may be different for me.
it does not matter how many times you start and stop- some quilts require alot of starts- some quilts you just do a continuous line design over it without regard to blocks-