Thank you all for your responses. When I got the pics from the LA of the finished quilt, I was soooooo excited. It took a week to ship and when I opened it I just wanted to cry. Not only was there a major tension problem, but the stitches varied from less than 4/inch to 10-12/inch.
This LA came highly recommended and I couldn't believe the quality of quilting that I got back. I actually sent her two similar quilts at the same time and luckily she hadn't started the second top. I've asked for that back without the quilting as I can't go through this again. I can only conclude that she either rushed through this one or had a "helper" quilt it and then didn't inspect it. She's sending a refund and the second top. I thought about asking her to fix this one but I don't trust that it will be done correctly, so I'll bite the bullet and tear it out. The holes aren't nearly as large as they look in the enlarged picture and I think that they'll close with washing.
Thimblebug6000, that's an excellent idea and I think that I'm going to do this. My friend who was going to get this quilt for Christmas has been following the progress of the similar quilt that I made at the same time and fell in love with the colors and the fabric. I'm so sad that I won't be able to give her the quilt at Christmas as I planned but she will be thrilled knowing that it is coming. I did make two quilted pillows that match the quilt (quilted these myself) so I can send those with the picture of the quilt.