i've seen some very soft, cozy, wonderful quilts with very dense quilting- alot depends on the batting being used & possibly the thread choice- dream wool & hobbs wool batts are fabulous batts that create a beautiful/drapable, cozy, lofty soft quilt that really show-cases detailed quilting. if you start with a (stiff batt) like W&N your quilt will be flatter/stiffer than if you use a nice lofty, soft batt.