I want to thank everyone for your help. This has really cleared things up for me and helped immensely. After reading all of the replies though, I had to admit that I searched high and low for my Complete Guide to Quilting; leafed through it to find answers to your topics. (stippling) That is something I'm also in the dark with, and I don't think I'll ever learn to do it- it sounds too complicated for me to attempt.

I was terrified of stippling at first (I'm still a newbie--only quilting for a year now) but I saw Eleanor Burns do it on her quilting show and thought it was worth a try. I took a deep breath and just practiced....and loved it! I'm so glad I took that leap. Try it. You may like it or you might not but at least you'll have one more thing under your belt! :D