when you are sewing clothing, stitching in one direction can make a big difference. example - if you have a skirt with several panels, if you sew some waist to hem, and some hem to waist, you may have issues (though some fabric is OK, some not).
I have never had issues with quilting, other than those associated with lining up points - sometimes I do start at the center and sew out because it's the easiest way to keep the center lined up correctly.