Originally Posted by DogHouseMom

Some quilts speak to me immediately, some take time. For the ones that I need to think about - I lay them out as flat as possible in a conspicuous place (usually my cutting table which is extra large and can be viewed easily from the doorway - and since the door is always open and the sewing room is opposite the bathroom and on the way to the bedroom - I see it several times a day just by walking by). I may look at it for days, in different lights, before I know what to do with it.
I first judge the "open space" if there is any, and decide what size of quilting is needed in that space.
I look at the overall pattern of the quilt ... does it flow in a circular pattern? Striped pattern? Or does it have distinct blocks? This can help me determine what I might use in each area of the quilt.

Are there area's that you want to stand out more? Less? How these are quilted will help determine whether the area becomes a focus or a background.
Some quilting stitches work better to bring an area to the foreground, and some work better to put an area in the background. Meandering and McTavishing are great background stitches that when worked right will make an adjoining area that does not have as much quilting in it stand out.
Picture a plain circle on a square. If you quilted the circle with a spiral and left the background un-quilted ... the circle will look like it is pulling you in to it. If you did a small meander around the circle and left the circle un-quilted - the circle will pop off the quilt like it's almost 3D.
Feathers are a bit different and even though I'd consider most of them on the "heavily quilted" end of the spectrum, they serve a different purpose because they create "direction" or "flow" - they direct the eye in a linear or circular pattern. I've seen them surrounded by heavy quilting and light quilting and they still seem to serve the same purpose - direction.
If you have a PInterest account it's a great idea to start a folder and capture pictures of quilting that show the quilting well, even if the quilting is of poor quality. Study these, collect samples of different stitches, collect samples of different stitch combinations. See how each stitch works with both the overall pieced quilt and with other stitches.
It takes time. It's part of the creative process. VanGogh experimented a lot with light and color ... your pallete is needle and thread but the process is the same. You WILL create some quilts along the way that upon a later more experienced review you will think would have been better if quilted differently. It's all part of the process.
Once of the best quotes I read recently was from a quilter who was interviewed in AQS about her award winning quilt. When asked how long it took to create the quilt she responded (and quote may not be exact but this is the drift) "It took me 15 years to develop the skill base and 1 year to make it".
Sew well said!!!!