Well guess I'll jump onto this soapbox too. I can fully appreciate you think the quilting is expensive. It was kind of a shot in the gut when you said "Just the stitching?"
That is not the only thing that happens when you hire a longarm quilter. Also, you need to know a bit more of what happens on OUR side of your quilt.
First off, does the quilt top have any problems? It may be out of square, the borders may be wavy, some of the squares may not lay flat when loaded, are the seams pressed flat, are the loose threads cut off, what kind of backing is with the quilt, is the backing square, if the backing is pieced together how was it pieced, were the selveges cut off and tons more stuff to be considered.
If the quilt is not square, the quilt will not lay flat after it is quilted. It will be wavy and have bad corners. You, the originator of the quilt, will blame the longarmer for messing up the quilt when it was not the fault of the longarmer.
If the borders are wavy, once again the end product will be wavy.
If you choose to use a pantograph design on the quilt, the longarmer has to measure the quilt THEN measure the pantograph. If the panto does not go into the quilt measurement evenly, then the longarmer has to figure in the "fudge factor" to make the panto look correct. And trust me that ain't always easy!
Now beyond all of the above, which is only a SAMPLING of things to look at, now we talk about threads and needles. A longarm needle is a MINIMUM of $1.00 and most are more expensive. Most quilts will use up at least 3 bobbins or more. This means the amount of thread used will be from 500yards and up. Not all threads will work with all quilts. We have to "sample stitch" and check tensions and the like. If that thread don't work, we have to remove it and try another thread, so on and so forth. Plus we usually use a more expensive thread. Why? So it doesn't fall apart with repeated washings. We also have to make "invisible" stops and starts and hide our threads.
Then to top off all of the above situations there is one other thing to consider. We have to deal with the quality of thread the quilter used for her piecing! I have had this happen:
Load customer quilt on frame. Get one section quilted and advance the quilt on the rollers. I hear a popping sound. HMMMMMMM What was that? As I begin to quilt the next section I fully see what the popping sound was. Because the piecer decided to use a "discount" thread, the thread broke from one side of the quilt to the other! So, I had to painstakingly HAND SEW the quilt back together before I could proceed with quilting. It only took me about 4 hours to complete that.
Sorry if it sounds like I'm really coming down on you, but before you pass judgement thinking longarmers charge too much "just for stitching" you need to consider our liability as well. Spend a day chatting with a longarmer, you'll come away with a whole new appreciation for the art.