The owner of the local quilt shop here in town tried to teach me how to hand sew during one of my visits. I did one nine patch block. It turned out okay, but most of that time---the time that every hand quilter says is "sooooooo relaxing"---was spent getting frustrated because I had trouble getting my needle though the fabric, keeping the edges of the pieces together, and keeping my stitches even. I had to tell her thanks for teaching me, but hand quilting just wasn't for me.
So I tried "real quilting" and I suck at it or get so frustrated to the point of hating it. And that's why I have a machine. But just because I use a machine doesn't mean I don't appreciate the patience and the skill of those who hand quilt.
Here's what I don't get in the arguement of the traditionalists who say machine quilting is cheating or any quilt made by a machine is not a "real quilt". We cut the pieces by hand, pin the pieces by hand, some draft patterns and templates for the pieces by hand, usually the fabrics are hand picked from a quilt shop or fabric place of some sort. Yet once that quilt hits a sewing machine its no longer considered a "real quilt"? Because the step of piecing and/or quilt stitching was done by a machine and not with your bare hands holding a needle and thread? And unless you're using a computerized long arm something actually has to control those stitches. That something would happen to be the quilter. So my personal opinion is just because the stitches were made with the help of a machine it doesn't make the quilt any less hand made.