My LA is awesome! I take my quilts to my LQS and the owner of the shop and I figure out what we want. She writes my phone number down for the LA. The LA calls me and will discuss with me everything I want. She will tell me what she thinks will work better and I can say yes or no. Usually I say yes, but I have said no and had her do it my way and she has said she was surprised at how well it turned out. But usually she is right and I do what she says and it turns out beautifully. She's talked me out of quite a few custom jobs where she would make a lot more money and the end results are just perfect - found out I didn't need a custom job afterall - she was right - and I saved $75! That's the kind of LA you want.