Hi neighbor! (I'm in NC too.) I feel your pain. I'm trying to teach myself FMQ now. It's been a real challenge for me but I'm determined not to be defeated.
I've only been quilting for a year. I've made 5 tops and am working on 6 & 7 now. I've sent one quilt to Charisma and she did a lovely job. I quilted one on my home machine - it was a baby quilt so not so much of a struggle and I quilted in straight lines (but not SID). I started another larger quilt with straight lines and the backing was puckering, so I've taken it out and going to start over. DH just bought me the Janome Horizon, so I'm excited to try quilting on it with the extra bed space.
At the end of the day, give yourself permission to not be perfect and don't compare yourself to others. There's a great deal of satisfaction is being able to say "I made it myself... all of it!" lol. There's also nothing wrong with having someone else quilt it and I think it's very affordable in most cases. I absolutely love the quilt Charisma quilted and could never have done such a job myself.
There is a lot of quilting talent on this board... those with an eye for deciding quilting designs for the best impact. They are also willing to share their ideas with you if you ask. Just have fun and enjoy your new hobby. :-)