I ask this question because at a recent quilt show we saw an otherwise stunning quilt with an awful border and it was too large to not notice it. You looked at the quilt and were up one second and down the next as the border detracted so much from the quilt design and color itself. This border was pretty fabric, but was not suited to this quilt in anyway. Was sad for the quilt.

I understand what you mean about some borders being too busy or just not right for a particular quilt. I like borders that blend or enhance the quilt. Sometimes the maker is just trying to enlarge the quilt. They can also give your eyes a break from a busy quilt. I'm working on a scrappy D9P that looks pretty busy. I didn't really like it until I started putting the borders on. I generally use 2 borders on my quilts. Often, I will use a marble or solid for a narrow inner border, then a matching/coordinating print for a wider outer border. I usually bind in the same marble/solid I used for the inner border. To me, borders finish it off, much like matting and framing do for a picture.

I like borders, they frame the quilt. I agree with "katier825" that they finish the quilt off.

Borders can make a nice quilt beautiful. Or they may detract from it. In my opinion, the piecer of the quilt must have seen something in that border that you did not.

borders, like quilting can make or break the quilt-
their importance is certainly project dependant- some quilts need a border- some do not- some need lots of quilting- some do not- it all depends on the quilt-
sometimes people add borders just to add size to their quilt- a border should get as much (if not more) careful thought as the quilt body received- they can be very important---or they can cause you to loose the quilt.
it's all a learning process- learning to size your borders to not overwhelm the body- the learning to use multiple borders- or to determine when a border is appropriate or not- we all have to learn.

i make art quilts so i very rarely use a border i prefer to using facing instead.

i feel it is very important..i lay out the quilt, and audition the borders i want to use. i let it "rest" with the fabric borders,and walk away and come back to look at it. i don't make the decision quickly.
i never thought about the time i take on borders..until you askd! but i do take time!

To me a border frames the quilt.

The border fabric is very important and can make or not make a quilt just right. The border is like the picture frame. It pulls all the colors together from the quilt and gives the eye a place to rest...especially when a 1 fabric border. Pieced borders are harder to do, but are good for using lots of the colors from the center of the quilt and in that way they pull the quilt together. If I do a pieced border, I like to do an inner border first.

A lot of times I pick out the border fabric first...and then pull colors from that fabric to choose the colors for the quilt. That way I have a fabric that I know is going to work well for the border.

The border for that quilt must have been chosen for a reason, but if the reason was it was "in the stash", that wouldn't be the best reason to use it if it doesn't do anything for the quilt...better then to go shopping!

my thoughts as well. to me, the center is the star of the show.