I am making a quilt with nine patch on point. the border has this also I will be quilting each block inside the quilt but my question is once you start free motion quilting ona quilt must you cover all the quilt or can some of it be left untouched? Vicki from Michigan

it's your quilt. why couldn't you leave some parts untouched? as long as you're meeting the requirements for how far apart to quilt the batting, do whatever floats your boat!

your batting choice dictates the amount of quilting necessary on a quilt. some batting needs to be quilted every 2" so you would need to cover the quilt with stitching; some batts allow up to 10"-12" between quilting, these batts allow you to leave some areas open...the key is consistancy and balance. your quilt should be quilted evenly across it, so when displayed it is balanced from top to bottom/ side to side.
if using the batting which can be 10" apart you could quilt every-other block type of quilting or what ever you want as long as you are consistant and balanced over the whole top

Any quilting on a quilt must be no farther apart than the manufacture recommends on the batting package. Somewhere on the package is should say something like " you should quill up to x inches apart" following this recommendation by the batting manufacturer means that the batting will not slip or bunch when used or washed. This should be followed if FMQ, SID or tying.

The batting you choose is your only limitation :D:D:D