I am new to quilting but part of my time ,as I learn, is spent each day just getting the "hang" of free-motion. The S-I-D is okay. In other words, do you always do S-I-D and then add the free motion or do you just do free motion by itself? Thanks, Pauline

You can do anything you want IMHO

I dont FM... yet... but I'm trying to learn.. but I thought u just FMQ most of the time.. but I dont even know what I'm doing half the time!! hehe

Someone that knows will pop on soon and have the correct answer!

Some may do some form of SID just to stabilize the quilt sandwich, if they aren't using a quilting frame. Some don't.
It could also be used as a part of a quilting design you have chosen to quilt.
I am all for using whatever technique that works for the quilter or the overall look of the quilt :D:D:D

It's a matter of preference, but I think it depends on the quilt. For instance I recently did 3 the same style. On 2, I just stippled the whole thing. On the 3rd, I did stitch in the ditch around the inner/outer border and FMQ the center and outer border. I liked that look better. If the quilt has appliques, you may want to outline stitch them and FMQ the background to make the applique pop.

The good thing about doing the stitch in the ditch is that if you do it first, you can do the FMQ anywhere you want, you don't need to start in the middle.

I usually just do FMQ. It's what I enjoy doing. SID is stressful for me.

You get to chose how you want the finished quilt to look. Using invisible thread on top the SID lines will show thru on the back but not on the front making the finished quilting more square. You can SID using long stitches to secure sandwich if you want to and then take out stitching. I am taking a FMQ class and there are so many more designs than meandering or stippling. My quilting teacher choses her quilting design and marks before sandwiching quilt. She will also try to pin around where she is going to quilt.