Both sides now....
When I started quilting as a young teen in the early seventies quilting by machine was a sacrilege. I can't tell you how many times I was told I was doing everything wrong. Of course, they had some valid points. My stitching wasn't perfect and my fabric choices were questionable, (there was no such thing as "quilting fabric" in those days), and I pieced by machine! The worst!I
My grandmother was a traditional quilter but when she saw the log cabin quilt I made by quilting and piecing on my machine she was a convert. She went home and made two of them for her guest room.
I took a lot of heat for machine quilting but I didn't care. I was selling my jackets and pillows in shops as a teenager and doing pretty well. However, when I went off to college i didn't take my machine with me and started hand piecing and quilting. I fell in love with it and found it very satisfying. I also saw a lot of creative options and began adding embroidery and beads. Yikes! I had become the quilting pariah of the 80s....an art quilter!
Now I do both machine and handwork, depending on what I want to make. I was taught tailoring and can make my own patterns, so I don't follow trends. I just do what I want. I didn't listen to the quilt police when I was 13 and I don't listen to them now. Everyone should quilt the way they want to!
If you put your work out there in a show or at your guild you are asking for attention. Most of the time people are encouraging but there are always those insecure know-it-alls who can't resist "helping." If you are going to compete you have to develop a thick skin. I actually won a first prize once and was shocked when I saw the judges' notes. One of them hated everything about my quilt, but the rest loved it. There's always going to be someone who finds fault with something. Don't let them get to you!