I've really discovered the meaning of negative space. I am doing a design with feathers and suns (phoenix is my theme) and thought I was being quite brilliant, until the entire design was quilted and then I looked at the unquilted parts and wondered how I was going to make the design show, not the unquilted sections. The picture shows bits of both. So I am going cross-eyed with tiny stippling. Had I realized all this, the "flames" would have been much fatter.
I realize that with the pic something else may come to mind. I may have to rename it b--bs and boas.