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."