Re the challenge, I've made a tiny bit of progress towards starting the machine quilting on my scrappy trips. I finally sat at my machine on and off for a few hours and started and finished my first small practice piece. Straight line stitching only and although the ditch was sometimes an elusive b*, I improved a bit by the end, enough so I'm satisfied with it. Next up, another small piece and if that goes better, I'll attempt my lap sized scrappy trips. I'm not expecting much but I will be glad to have something if that size done.