I agree they are two different skill sets. If I hand quilted only, I would have given up a long time ago. With the demands of family, a full time job, etc., there just isn't enough time to hand quilt everything and see results. That being said, I've been a quiltmaker for 10+ years and have just decided to give hand quilting a serious go - I absolutely love the hand quilted quilts, but I will continue to machine quilt also, in fact machine quilting will stay my main technique. There are things you can only achieve with each technique, each with great merits. I love it all.