Are your friends paying you to quilt their quilts? If so, you need to tell them exactly what you need them to do to make your job easier. I had one LAQ refuse to quilt my top because I hadn't pressed all the seams open. Of course, she didn't tell me this was required when we were discussing it. If she had, I would have told her I'd find someone else (I have worked with two other LAQers who never required this). If you are quilting them out of friendship, you need to have them help you load the quilts on the machine. That way, they will see the problems up close and personal, and you can discuss what problems you will encounter as you do the quilting. Make it a teachable moment.