Quick question - "quilt as desired"
 

I want to make a cover for a book--found a pattern in Quilt Almanac 2012 that I am using.
First thing you do is cut the fabric for the main piece (11" X 18"), layer the backing, batting, and top. Then it says "quilt as desired". Here is where I'm stuck. I have never done hand quilting, or machine quilting--only piecing. Do I use my machine and if so, what kind of 'design'? The fabric is a batik with an overlay of flowers/leaves printed on it, so I don't think something too 'angular' would work....but I am at a loss as to what to do. Hand or machine? It's small enough to do by hand, but machine would (ideally) be quicker....I say ideally because things can always go wrong....

I have it all basted together, but wanted to get some guidance.

FMQ with curves is tricky, so practice on a scrap first, then see how you like your results. It is super easy to quilt straight lines on the machine, but a curved design is a different story. If you really want curves, you might want to do it by hand.

you could just hand quilt around some of the flowers or leaves evenly spaced across the material

Why not just do cross hatch; it's very simple, straight lines. I mark mine with chalk, come use painters paint. I did a whole jacket like this and it turned out great. I was like you when my teacher said quilt as desired, I have never done anything besides SITD. She said you can cross hatch and I did.

You could draw the quilting design on paper (golden threads paper or tissue paper) and pin the paper to the quilt sandwich. Then you can quilt over the paper to follow the design and pull off the paper when done. It gives you a chance to audition the design before you commit. One thing that I keep reading in quilting books is to make sure the quilting is balanced, meaning that you have relatively equal amounts of stitching in each area or it may look uneven. Good luck. BTW, it is a good idea to combine geometric patterns (like grids) with more flowy designs or specific motifs.

OK, I did it. :) I did a curvy 'stipling', tried it out first on a scrap and then dove in. It isn't half bad! :)
Finished the binding while at my daughter's piano lesson. I'll put pictures in Pictures once I take them--probably tomorrow. It turned out rather nice, if I do say so myself. :)

you probaby would not want to hand quilt it-since you cut out your pattern pieces after it is quilted- machine quilting how ever you want is how to do it- practice some on some scraps till you decide what you like- or you could just make lines of a decorative stitch if your machine has decorative stitches.