I don't stitch in the ditch very often. One quilt I'm working on now has "melons". Since the melons are comprised of 6 different fabrics sewn together and the melon edges are curved, the seam allowances want to misbehave, so I basted them down (by hand) and then I stitched in the ditch around each melon, so the seam allowances are now unable to flop around. I don't need stitching in the ditch is something that is required or preferable very often, but sometimes it is the perfect solution.