I am a hand quilter and belong to the school of "less is more" when it comes to the quilting. I see so many quilts that are, in my opinion, over quilted and so many times I can't see the quilt for all of the quilting.
There are times when I think that the heavy quilting works....especially when it's used to high light an applique, etc. but for the most part I'm with you on the "too many feathers".