I made my first quilt around 1985. Up until recently I hand quilted. My hand quilting is adequate, just adequate. I have tied many a quilts as well. I have an unknown amount of UFO's stashed everywhere. I have always been apprehensive about sending a quilt out for LA from the expense aspect, and even if I could afford to own one there is absolutely not a speck of space in my home to house one. I have narrowed my quilt construction down to lap quilts, wall hangings, runners, etc so I can easily quilt them on my DM I even took a large queen sized UFO and chopped it up into a couple of pieces so i could more easily quilt. My next experiment will be quilt as you go.
Don't give up, there is always some sort of alterntive to keep you quilting and enjoying it.