I appreciate the different viewpoints, but what really bugs me is that so many quilt shows and exhibits do not yet differentiate. Several years ago, for example, the Billings Farm Museum exhibit in VT just used the name of the person submitting the quilt without saying that it was machine quilted by a professional. Now they require that both sewist and quilter meet the criteria for entry and both names are posted. However, they do not say whether it was "roboquilted" or if the quilter hand guided the machine. My own guild is the same. I've been trying to get them to make that distinction and am interested in how other shows describe the two techniques.
I am not perfect and know I am a long way from being a prize winner. I accept my limitations and enjoy the process as my skills grow. But it really bugs me to have my quilt next to one that was quilted not just ON a machine, but BY a machine which does not have human hands guiding it. The two should be properly identified so those who do wonderful hand guiding or free motion can be appreciated and not compared against those done by a computerized process. Both are fine, just as hand and machine are fine, they just should be labeled for what they are. Usually an experienced quilter can tell the difference, but the average person just sees something perfect next to something with irregularities. Just my opinion.