Making a "quilt" has progressed from something necessary to a work of thread/textile art, in some cases And, in my opinion, that should determine the density and type of the thread work design. That being said, I have seen some very nicely pieced quilts- I'm thinking body covers, be it bed, lap,throw,- that are so loosely quilted it will be lumpy and saggy after a few washings. And, conversely, some that are so densely quilted, they could greet you at the door.....the eye is drawn to the quilted thread design and not the fabric piecing and are as stiff as "boards". But, it is what it is.

I am not a fan of densely quilted quilts. I think the quilting should not take over the pattern of the fabrics. I strive for a happy medium. There are always a few quilts in the shows that the pattern and quilting don't jive well together. One or the other takes over. Sometimes they win sometimes they don't. It all depends on the judges.

I think people tend to quilt more heavily with long arms simply because they can. There aren't the practical barriers of time and physical effort that you have when stitching by hand or when trying to move a heavy quilt under a needle.

I think what people are referring to when they say that a lightly quilted quilt is more snuggly, is that the batting retains more of the air. For any particular stitch in hand quilting, you have the thread either on the top of the quilt or on the bottom, but not both. With machine quilting, a top and bottom thread meet in the middle with every stitch and compress the batting.

I try to keep that in mind when considering a design for a machine-quilted quilt. I figure that I should have about half the amount of stitching when machine quilting that I would have when hand quilting if I want a similar effect, since I am using twice as much thread and compressing the batting with each stitch. I think this is why heavily quilted machine-stitched quilts seem stiff. The air has been quilted out.

I grew up with most of my quilts tied with yarn, so I tend to prefer a less-quilted quilt over one with a lot of quilting. I usually look for batting that allows quilting to be very spaced out, so I can quilt minimally if I want to, but of course more is fine too.

I tend to quilt baby/child quilts a little more densely than quilts for adults. I assume it's going to be washed more often, and I'm hoping it'll be used for things like blanket forts and superhero capes too, so I try to build those to be extra rugged.

I've seen some quilts before quilting that are lovely with pretty, pastel colored prints and are a sweet design. I've seen the same quilts after quilting that look like a "gravel road"!
For me mostly, less is more, unless its a wholecloth.

I have changed over the years. I used to be a "less" fan and liked minimal quilting. I am now a "more" fan, but still not heavy. Right now I am liking the texture that close straight or wavy lines create.

I try to go for balance. I also let the quilt lead the direction i'm going in when I am deciding how to quilt it.

I will also admit that I like more quilting than less quilting.

Totally dependent on the quilter. I tend to quilt more densely on some quilts and less on others. There is no right or wrong.

Ditto luvspaper.

Could not agree more. The amount of quilting is completely subjective. I will quilt much more heavily for a wall hanging or a show quilt. In the case of show quilts the judges always look for balance and continuity. Does the quilting compliment and enhance the piecing, is it well balanced throughout? this is a common criteria I see on comment/score sheets. It really boils down to personal preference. One person's "too much quilting" is another person's "just right".