Originally Posted by Tippy
I did nothing but hand work for years.. I have actually had other "experienced quilters" stand in a shop and argue with me that I had machine pieced a quilt. Then I was told that I did not know how to quilt...despite the piece laying there with my needle still attached, because I do a stab stitch or needlepoint quilting as some have called it. Recently I learned to use a longarm and have started machine piecing and quilting. I think both have merits.. depending on the pattern I can sometimes hand piece faster than I machine piece.. some blocks that I love to hand piece I wouldn't even attempt on the machine. Other quilts go way faster on machine. as far as how long they last, I strongly disagree with that lady. Just look in the museums.
Hand stitching can last just as well as machine.depends on the materials and the workmanship.
I have 25 years plus of quilts in hard daily use and the few quilts that have needed repair was due to getting caught when drug around the house or fabric wear - my hand quilting has held up amazingly well and is beautiful. My first two quilts that I hand pieced did NOT fare that well as I ended up having to do a lot of repair of the piecing and vowed never again so I now machine piece and hand quilt. I'm in the process of beginning to experiment with some machine and some hand quilting to see how that goes.