I first started quilting about 30 years ago. The teacher I had was a purist. Everything was by hand. NO SEWING MACHINES. We had to hand piece and hand quilt everything. No wonder I only got a sampler done. It didn't take me long to jump on the sewing machine when I was out of class. Raising triplets kept me busy and away from quilting for a while. Kids raised so it was back to quilting for me. I had lots of tops done with the hopes of someday hand quilting them. I still had that hand quilted thinking going on in my head.
I went to a quilt show a while back and 60% of the quilts were just tops. I couldn't believe my eyes. I was under the theory that it wasn't a quilt until it was quilted. Out of the completed quilts 30% were machine quilted and 10% hand done.
I didn't want my tops to end up unfinished. I gave myself permission to get them machine quilted and I'm so happy I did. Now they can be used and cherished. I love the long arm quilter I use. She is a sweetheart.
Someday I hope to have a long arm of my own. In the meantime I'm grateful for the talent of those who do.
Thanks for posting this tread. I've been thinking about sharing my story for a while. I love the inspiration I get here.