For me the stress of dealing with a large quilt and a regular sewing machine was so frustrating. My shoulders ached , my head pounded.... and there was the envitable ...PUCKERS... It was a huge relief to work with Long arm quilters. Before I used to read the batting instructions and find the batting that required the least amount of quilting. The long Arm people I have worked with do a better job and do much more quilting than I ever would.