I quilt my own on my sewing machine and only know how to meander and crosshatch at the moment.

I agree with Auntluc-I am a piecer, not a quilter!! I will machine quilt baby quilts and wall hangings. And those take me HOURS AND HOURS-and I am talking about just getting the inspiration to do something!! Then more and more hours for the quilting. Anything else goes out to the quilter. I cannot hand quilt because I have arthritis in my thumbs. Any hand work, even binding, takes me a long time.

I've done everything from hand-piecing/hand-quilting to machine-piecing/hand-quilting, to machine-piecing/machine quilting...
and I just last month took some tops to be done on a long arm for the very first time. They are tops I've had around for YEARS plus some that are really big and I didn't want to 'fight' with them.

I don't hand piece any more...

I did hand quilt that red/white/blue Irish chain and the whole time I worked on it I wished I had NOT started the hand quilting. I have arthritis in my hands plus diabetes and hypothyroid and my hands cramp something terrible when I hand sew. I do hand sew the back side of bindings but it takes me awhile... I just think it looks better done by hand (on the back side).

I've done stitch-in-the-ditch and stippling and meandering (my understanding is: stippling is closely spaced and meandering isn't 8) )
I have NOT done any of that "oh wow, that's fantastic" type of quilting that I know can be done on a regular machine - I just don't have the patience and I get really irritated and bugged when I'm trying to do something really (really) carefully and want to make it really beautiful and booger it up right off the bat... so then I wind up stippling... so I figure I'll stick with stitch-in-the ditch and stippling/meandering.

The most important thing is NOT an expensive machine - I've done stippling on a $70 Brother from Walmart - it wasn't my favorite but certainly acceptable. The most important thing is to make sure the tension is balanced and DON'T MOVE THE FABRIC TOO FAST.
I use two old Singer 301 machines for piecing and quilting and just today finally got the bobbin case for the Singer 15-90 that we found (1948 ) and want to try quilting on it.
and you want a darning foot.


Then make sure you've basted or pinned ALOT.. I use the big safety pins - got tired of stabbing myself.

Start in the middle and work your way out to an edge then go back to the middle.

The best thing to do is jump in with both feet. ... have a seam ripper handy LOL ... just don't cut the fabric :roll:

practice on something... stippling is easy after all...
invest three dollars in a pair of rubberized gardening gloves from walmart - you'll be amazed how they help maneuver the quilt...

most of all don't beat up on yourself, don't expect to be perfect the first, fifth, tenth time.... there is no such thing ... well, maybe... I've seen some pretty spectacular quilts but really - are they actually used on a bed? In the crib?

I have done king, queen and reg. on my machine. the trick is to baste them well and have a second table on the side.
I have hand quilted them also. I would not think of sending them out. I feel it would not have been done by myself.
I take great pride in completing the quilt myself.
Give your self time to think this out.

I have made around 7 queensize quilts(and many many more twin/lap size)that I have quilted on my machine, pretty much either stitch in the ditch, or coming across on the diagonals. I currently have a large queen in flannels for my bed that I am considering sending out to have done. My shoulders couldn't handle that heavy of a quilt. Around here a queen would cost me $200-$250 or more and I can't afford that. My new Bernina has some great decorative stitches and I have been playing with those a lot. I would have to say I am a piecer. I love picking out the fabs, cutting them and putting tops together. Sandwiching (which I use the basting spray) and actual quilting are not that enjoyable for me. (I have 8 or 9 (sandwiched) up on my son's bed waiting to be done) I would love to find some long-armers on this board for when I am ready to have the flannel one done.

[b]I hand quilt all mine except for the borders and I machine quilt them,
my husband made me a frame out of PVC pipe like the Q-snap ones
I like to do my own I get a good feeling of satisfactionwhen I am done.
I hope everything turns out for you like you want it to.

cassiemae :lol:

Thanks for all your input. It gives me food for thought. I appreciate all your interesting comments. I wish that you all were closer so you could show me and hold my hand a little bit and I bet I could get the hang of the machine quilting. I may give it a go, but I don't think I'll start with the king.

here's one more......I was not happy with the quality of machine quilting I was getting from a woman who did edge to edge quilting for most of the ladies in my area. She claimed to be not the best, but the cheapest. That was because she did not pay attention to detail. She knew how to run the machine back and forth over the quilt and was about all she could do.

I decided I wanted to finish my own quilts myself. I bought a Grace GMQ Pro and a Bailey 13 inch Mid-arm Quilting machine. I am very happy with it and have been finishing the quilts I started while hubby was finishing the basement and making a sewing room for me. I have never hand quilted because I don't care for hand sewing, and because I have nerve damage in my fngers.

I love having my own equipment and like someone else said, I started late too. So now I am playing "catch up."

I understand all of your comments about hand or machine quilting. The hand quilted quilts, to me, appear have so much more love put into them like, when Gramma did it. Makes you wonder what Gramma was thinking about while she was working on it.
I totally understand the hand problems and age issues. Then it's longarm time. I also understand the feeling of accomplishment when you know you did it all from start to finish.
If you decide to go with a longarmer, I'd try to find one that does computerized quilting. I can probably find a few for you. A good quilter will communicate with you and try very hard to find out exactly what you want. Good luck and don't strain your brain too much 'cause it hurts when you do that

Jackie claimed:

a: I don't agree that a quilt needs to be hand-quilted to appear loved
and
b: Gramma was wishing she could afford the new treadle machine because she had 10 kids, a farm, a husband, and all that other work in addition to the quilts to get done...