I love the hand quilted heirloom quilts. And I love the machine quilted art pieces. It seems to me that with so many of us in the work force, that the machine quilting is an art of its own for those will less time to devote to the hand work. doesn't that mean that each is its own category? There is much beauty in well done art no matter which form it is done in. I hope that hand quilting is not a fading art, but the new advances in machine work is just awesome as well.