I'm still learning, and that removes some of the fun, but I still like doing it occasionally. I don't use it a lot - if I had software to make my own custom designs I'd probably use it more; it doesn't feel as creative to me to only stitch out other people's designs, it would be a lot more appealing to me if I could be more creative with it. But so far I haven't been motivated to figure that all out.
I DO still consider it a bit of a cheat compared to hand embroidery but I love creative cheats so that's not a negative thing. I cheat and machine quilt, I cheat and sew my bindings by machine, I cheat and use Elmer's to baste. If I didn't do all that cheating I'd have given up on quilting about three seams into my first quilt, LOL.