You did not cheat. Rather you made a wise decision to use the tools you had at hand. I think the quilting is gorgeous. Please realize that this is no different than any longarmer who uses a computer-controlled design does. Would you think of FMQ done with a stitch regulator as "cheating"? IMHO it boils down to the same thing as construction done with "hand tools vs power tools" (time, accuracy, and efficiency).