Try checking out Susan Carlsons' blog. She has books and patterns and is VERY generous about posting her process online. She calls her method 'collage' quilting. Some of her students' work looks more like fabric by number to my eye. Check out Crocodylus Smylus. There is a time lapse video that is fabulous. She uses glue..I had a hard time wrapping my head around it, but am working on a project I started in her class. Maybe this is what you are looking for...
www.susancarlson.com