I agree that feathers can be overused as a quilting design. I think one reason may be that many quilters "love feathers." Another reason is thatdensely feathered quilting quite often is rewarded with ribbons at quilt shows.
If a quiltmaker tells a longarmer, "Do whatever you want"-- quite often she will get feathers because they are a natural go-to pattern for many longarmers.
I tend to do feathers only on very traditional quilts with lots of open spaces, or on very girly quilts, and only then after a detailed discussion with the quiltmaker.
I don't decide on her quilt design or her thread color on my own. These decisions are made in a consultation where we are working in collaboration. It's a process that I find works best for me and my clients. No surprises.