I kind of let the quilt tell me what needs to be quilted to make the patchwork stand out. I try to avoid quilting through multiple thicknesses of fabric. So pressing seams to one side and quilting in the ditch on the main patchwork areas works well for me or quilting 1/4 in. away from seams. The main place I use stencil type designs are in the open spaces, such as borders or larger filler type background pieces. For ideas you can like my quilting page on facebook and see how I've handquilted many quilts. facebook page: Thimble and Thread By the way, your top is beautiful. I hope you post a finished picture.