I know of only one person that hand quilts. Her church holds "quilting bees" for special projects and they are indeed lovely works of art. And it is a wonderful social time together. However, when I have asked several dry cleaners if they would clean/launder a quilt for me, the first ting they ask me is "is it hand or machine quilted?" They don't want the liability, if it should fall apart or be damaged in any way. Machine sewn quilts are certainly more sturdy.
'