I have not tried quilt as you go yet. I do quilt the majority of my own quilts as the cost of a LA quilter is beyond my budget most of the time. I can also tell you that I am not good at free motion quilting either. A lap quilt is doable on your home machine. You can do a cross hatch, stitch in the ditch or 1/4 in. From there you can learn FMQ or to use stencil for something fancier