Pattern suggestion
 

I have some plaid fabric that I just love and want to find the "perfect" pattern to use with it. Any suggestions? I don't want one with too many pieces to avoid matching them. I might even consider just a table runner rather than a full quilt. Thank you.

Like you, I shudder at the idea of the plaid being cut, and the lines not matching when put back together!!!

When I have a fabric that I love and "just can't cut" .... I have two fall backs ...
1. use it as a backing .... with something coordinating for the front
2. use it as a large focal centre fabric ........ then border it up!!

I know, oh so borrrrrrrring, but it's a way to make it work and keep what I like about the fabric!

Good Luck!!

I have made patchwork quilts with plaids dong something like alternating pieced nine patches made with solids or tone on tones with the larger plaid blocks. Turns out fine. I however, don't really mind where plaid lines end up to much. Don't have time for all the fussy cutting. Oh, and I also made a strip quilt with smaller plaids, a whole bunch of them, which my nephew loved and wore out, I think I made the strips to finish about 3 inches wide and just cut them into lengths and stitched end to end, sort of like a jelly roll race quilt.

I like the disappearing 4 patch or nine patch for "special" fabrics.

There's a free pattern on ByAnnie that I've used several times - you might want to check it out. It's called "Wickedly Easy" and it lives up to its name. :) https://www.byannie.com/wickedly-easy-quilts/

You could fussy cut the plaid into squares and use them as centers or edge pieces in a 9-patch. That might give it an interesting look.

Google Homespun with plaid quilt patterns
There is a great variety and really shows how any pattern, made with plaids, ends up as a homespun or aka Primitive quilt.
This is Pinterest site. I love all her examples. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/tartansa...nghamhomespun/
This Pinterest site has some really good examples. https://www.pinterest.com/suzp74/qui...with-homespun/

This one!
https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictur...e-t254529.html

Pat Speth has just started a free quilt-along, and her example of the quilt uses lots of beautiful plaids. Check it out.
https://patspeth.com/collections/free-patterns

Pattern suggestion
 

I did this baby quilt using plaids and have done a larger one with HSTs. Another idea is bricks I’ve used 9x6 rectangles, joined together in rows.

have you checked out Fabric Cafe 3 yard quilts. A lot of her patterns are based around one big piece of a focus fabric. Here is a link to the website. There are free patterns on the website and she has a you tube channel that shows quilts made with 3 fabrics.
I am not affiliated with Fabric Cafe but have used her patterns and like the idea of quick and easy quilts with few pieces per block. LOL

https://www.fabriccafe.com/default.asp