If your goal is to do a quilt entirely by yourself, then you've gotten some great advice here. A class, a friend, a book, all can give tips for success. But if you really don't enjoy it, there's no problem quilting by check. I do mine myself but will switch over to check soon. I'm just tired of wrestling with quilts on my domestic machine. Some longarm work is so beautiful. I could never achieve it with my small harp.