I have read a few books on quilting. One talked about the use of the quilt after it was finished and how there were three kinds of quilts. A utilitarian everyday one, a "nice" quilt for gifting and a show quilt you plan on entering into a fair or quilt show. This kind of thinking really open my eyes to how I viewed what I would put into the quilting.
Now, if you are going to wash it often because you are using it on your bed, (or an everyday baby quilt) an all over close quilting design would be good, because of the mid to heavy all over quilting. They get a lot of wear and tear. The second gifting quilt could be quilted a little more fancy because it could be a prized heirloom to that person. Or who knows it could be a very special occasion, Who knows? Then you would make sure to put appropreate design onto it.
The last type quilt would be something that would be judged in a show and thus would have to be some pretty fancy quilting indeed.
There are many ways to quilt also. Using your domestic machine, a short or long arm. Which you could rent for the day after taking their classes. Or even hand quilting or using a built in design on your machine.
Every one of these ways of quilting gets the job done. But, first you must ask yourself the "USE" of the quilt and react accordingly. I hope this helps you. It sure did me!