I agree that if you are not in a hurry just take your time and enjoy it. take it one square at a time.
Im considering hand quilting mine....but Im scared of how long it would take to finish, if my stitches would look even, would I get sick of it and "forget" to finish it.
Personally I LOVE the look of the hand quilted quilts and I have been thinking about doing a civil war quilt, in the reproduction fabric and hand quilting. Right now its just a dream. There is a lot of largeness there...lol
If you just don't want to finish it my hand then by all means use your machine. Im very happy with mine that are machine quilted.