I find this conversation very interesting. I have a HQ Avante with an upgraded computer in the last 2 months. I mostly quilt for myself and some friends, but occasionally quilt for hire. I am terrible at the hand guided, or FMQ, or whatever you want to call it. My practicing seems to get worse instead of better, so I stick with the computer guided designs. It takes time to learn the computer, but I love it now. The few "customers" I have seem more interested in price than design, and I am not doing it to get rich, or even pay for the machine. So I will pretty much stick with the computer, and hope to eventually get better at the hand guided designs. Personally, I don't like quilting that it close together, and neither do the people I quilt for. They are beautiful to look at, but I use my quilts on my beds and like the soft crinkly look they acquire after washing. I will never be entering shows with my quilts, so perfection isn't even in my vocabulary, just the fact that I love what I am doing and the way I am doing it.