I only hand sewed (pieced and quilted) for years, now I machine as well. It's not 'better' or worse for that matter but it is faster. Hand sewing in the evening watching TV - quilting, EPP or embroidery of crazy blocks I find very relaxing. Here in France, there is a prejudice against machine work, like it's cheating in some way. If you go to quilt shows, you see ppl turn away in disgust from quilts annotated as machine pieced or quilted. But using a machine is an art in itself I think, especially FMQ which is bloomin difficult! I say both ways have equal value and ya boo sucks to those who say mean things about one or the other!