I go according to the batting. I've been to some quilting shows and even changing distances from the quilt it was often hard to determine the pattern because of the extreme dense quilting.

I like a lot of quiliting. FMQ is my favorite stage of the process, and it's where I add my own personal vibe to a quilt. It's not just about structure -- it's adding texture, secondary design, and subtle color additions to the pieced work. I think when it's done purposefully and and with some skill, you can't over-quilt. Not saying that every quilt ever can support heavy quilting. A case in point -- I'm working on the 365 quilt block challenge -- lots of tiny blocks heavily pieced, and that quilt is all about the piecing, so the quilting will have to take a backseat and be more structural rather than a design element in itself.

Those who love to go on about how stiff and cardboard-like heavy quilting makes a quilt -- that's a problem of not using the optimal batting type and/or an unfortunate thread choice more than a density of quilting issue. Sometimes too there is an element of sour grapes that sneaks into those comments. I get it somewhat -- before I had the ability to do FMQ myself, I claimed to like stitch in the ditch / invisible quilting. That's what I felt was attainable on my equipment and with my time and skill set, so I didn't really key into FMQ as an art in and of itself. With a machine upgrade and some time devoted to learning how to do it, I love it and really admire and appreciate the masters who share their work and tutorials online.

I think it's sad that quilters seem to think it's fine to be rather rude about heavily quilted work -- or dismissive with broad strokes, while they would be outraged if similar comments were made about under-quilted work. There's a real double standard for the level of rude that's tolerated in comments about quilting. What ever happened to just saying "I really like doing it this way because I think it looks best or works well for my skills" and leaving out the negative comments about the opposite>

Very well stated RST.

I make mostly lap quilts or baby quilts. Usually I end up with more quilting. My hands and brain just start swirling or doing wavy lines and the denseness is set! Once you start out denser, you need to keep that denseness in the whole quilt so it's flat. I've seen quilts that I think are over or under quilted and detract from the piecing. When I go to a show, I'm more apt to feel sad about the under quilted ones.

The purpose of quilting is to anchor the three layers of the sandwich together so that the batting doesn't shift. After that, it becomes personal preference. The quilting can become an art form in itself going beyond function or an enhancement of the piecing or applique. The question of this topic seems to ask if there is a standard to go by. There might be, probably is, a standard for show or competition quilts. In my opinion, with quilts for function and enjoyment, after the basic purpose of quilting is met, whatever the quilter likes is okay. If someone wants to be critical, well, it just shows that our tastes are all different. I think we just need to quilt in away that is pleasing to ourselves.

Very well put. I also think if some one quilts a quilt for another person, long arm quilter, they should try and keep the piecing forefront unless the person who pieced the quilt wants a lot of quilting. Definitely keep the purpose of the quilt in mind. It reminds me of two beautiful quilts made by a grand mother for her grand daughters, the quilts were quilted by a long arm quilter and the work was gorgeous but the quilts ende dup stiff and heavy. They lost their snuggle factor and had turned into beaufiul wall hangings.

If I paid a long arm quilter to do custom quilting, I would be very disappointed if they under-quilted my project -- I would be looking for added artistry and design elements -- think of the work by Angela Walters or the name escapes me, but Green Fairy Quilters. Otherwise, I see no point in paying for professional longarming. So I would say the take away is to find ways to communicate very clearly what your expectations are if you are a customer. And if you're a pro, be clear and honest about your skill set and what you can reasonably deliver.

I wish we had "Like" buttons.

PP you are correct, it is in the eye of the beholder, or cuddler. A woman in my MQG did an incredible quilt with match stick quilting. It was spectacular, it made the quilt, but it was not for cuddling under.

Agree with what Tartan said.

I have a quilt right now that I turning out more dense than I planned for exactly the reason you state Doggramma!