I know that many of you may say the quilt speaks to you but since I don't yet have ears to hear, a more tangible answer is requested.
I used to think I was artistic but looking at the blank quilt is intimidating.
Also, what tools do you like best when trying to do circles or crosshatching.
Are groovy boards worth their money? I like the idea of free hand because it is not a mistake, you meant it to be like that! The problem is all I can think to do then is a meander and that gets boring.
Also, do you stop and start your threads alot or will you sew over something to get to the next spot?
Thanks in advance!
Stacey

Don't ask me, my quilts laugh at me. I find that I do the same things over and over - feathers and swirls, leaves and lines. I'm in a rut.

I've been a longarm quilter for 7 years and accepted long ago that I don't do fancy stuff. I do meandering, which has my own flair, and my customers like a lot, and I also do pantographs. Custom work is so time-consuming and I really don't make a profit, compared to meandering or pantographs. I don't have a Statler Stitcher with my Gammill, so I figure the fancy work can go to longarm quilters who have a computerized Statler.

Is the quilt geometric, playful, elegant? What do the fabrics have in common? What shapes fit a space? I may not come up with the best design every time for each quilt but that's how I choose what to quilt. I have a Gammil/Statler and love to design new patterns in AutoSketch!

if it is straight lines I like to do curves of some sort and meandering fits a lot of the time. If it is circles I like to do lines and sometime I like to do curves and spike in together just to mix it up on lines and curves! lol

you can replicate designs in the quilt for quilting designs- such as doing flowers, leaves, stars, along with your meandering- stipple backgrounds- if the quilt is all straight lines- curvy quilting is nice
it is totally up to you if you want to do individual blocks-with starts & stops- or if you want to do an edge to edge all over with out starts-stops-
either way is fine-and a personal choice.
echo quilting is also a good option when free-handing

spend some time looking through books of quilts- really look at the quilting- years ago there was no such thing as groovy boards- or statler stitchers-
the more you look at other quilting the more you will (see) what will look great on your quilts.
many of us free hand everything-
it just takes some practice- and being (adventurous)