Originally Posted by
FroggyinTexas
Fiddlesticks! If the term is free motion quilting, why all the fuss. Free implies that whatever you do and wherever you go on the item you are quilting is all right because it is "free." All these rules about not crossing lines and how to fill in the blanks are a long, long way from "free." froggyintexas
The 'free' of free motion actually refers to the fact that the motion is not guided by feed dogs.
But you are right- there are no rules in quilting. I often cross my lines when I do filler designs, just depends what the design is. There are definitely design implications to what you do, some things will be more pleasing than others- so I'm not sure I will agree that anything is right, but if you are happy with it, it is right.
To the OP: Personally, I like to doodle on a piece of paper the designs I plan to quilt and layout what I want to do. Then go to my machine and make it happen. Don't spend too long on the planning stage, but I think the quilt suffers if you do not plan something. I heard Claudia Pfiel, a brilliant quilter, say this weekend "think about what you will quilt, but when you start quilting do not think anymore"- too much thinking ruins the design.