I've been thinking about my opinion on this. I love the artistry in the heavily quilted quilts and marvel at those that possess that ability, especially if it is done free hand without computer assistance, and is done in such a way as to make the piecing stand out. I wish I had even an ounce of that artistic ability, but I don't. So I admire the quilts that are quilted this way. But after looking at so many heavily quilted quilts, and my lack of drawing talent, and my limited resources and funds, I simply can't compare my quilting with those types of quilts and I'm finally ok with that. I've learned that I love the feel of hand quilted quilts compared to machine quilted quilts. So, rather than bemoaning the fact that I can't do heavy quilting with a machine, I'm working on doing somewhat heavy quilting with a needle and thread and a template. My hand quilted quilts will never compare to the artistry of the heavily machine quilted quilts, but the time I spend on them is priceless which gives the quilt a completely different artistic value.
So, for me, I find I can appreciate the quilting and piecing on each quilt simply for the artistic value of piece.