Can You Have Too Much Quilting In a Quilt?

A quilter remarked to me, as she looked at before and after (quilting) photos of a quillt, “I think there’s too much quilting in this one.  It takes away from the design of the quilt blocks.”

I’d never thought of that, but realized I had to agree in this case.  The quilt consisted of an intriguing design of brightly colored solid patches.  The way they were interlocked made the design.  However, when we looked at the next photo with each patch practically covered with quilting…swirls and loops…your eye strayed from the patch design to the stitches.

This probably depends on the fabric and design used.  In some, like this quilt of different colored solid fabrics, the quilting stitches would be very evident.  Depending on individual preference, quilters would either like it very much, be neutral, or find it not so attractive.  Other fabrics, with busy designs, would not show the quilting so readily.

Then you have quilts and wall hangings, like the one pictured on the cover of Sandra Meech’s book, Creative Quilts: Inspiration, Texture & Stitch, where the design itself is created by the stitches.

It would be interesting to see what you think.  Can you have too much quilting?  Or do you find quilts more attractive with more intricate quilting designs?