Sometimes I just draw a picture over the whole quilt (like
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...d-t185738.html). Other times I quilt the bits that seem obvious, and then fill in the remaining spaces as ideas present themselves. One book I find very helpful is "Quilting Makes the Quilt" (
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1564770753/...sl_9r4wxl6i3_e) in which the author has quilted the same quilt top in four or five different ways, so you can see how the effect of the finished quilt changes. Remarkable.
I still have to sit and think and draw and think before I quilt, and sometimes I see the finished product and know that a different pattern would have been better! I also thinnk that doing shapes and patterns that come easily to you and feel natural is important - I love the look of feathered circles, but they don't really fit my quilts. The few times I have
forced myself to use this quintessential pattern (because I love it and it is classic) it hasn't looked right; not my style.
And we are all our own worst critics - whatever you do will look awesome to the recipient!
Alison