I apologize-I should have phrased that differently. I don't consider a self-quilting machine cheating any more than I would loading my dishwasher and letting it do my dishes for me. I think it is all up to you. I have seen many hand quilted quilts that are beautiful and took a lot of hours, but the quilter was happy to hand quilt. When I first started quilting, I hand quilted a lot as well, but now it is much easier to load it on the frame and quilt it. It isn't self quilting of course, but it is by a machine not by hand. But, for me it is quicker and I can move on to something else. So if you think it is cheating and you are happy with hand quilting, then go for it. I admire your patience and your ability to hand quilt and I know that each stitch will be stitched with love. You can't beat that.