Peckish

Yeah... some of the terms are kind of off from what a quilter would actually say, but maybe this person is not a native English speaker?

Anyway... my two cents worth to the OP is this: Most professional quilters use robotics because it's very efficient and cost-effective. A shop can run multiple computerized machines and churn out 2-3 quilts per day per machine. Custom hand-guided quilting is more expensive because it's very labor intensive and usually has a much longer turnaround time. It's not as profitable as robotics, therefore the rates are premium to make up the difference. Most quilt makers choose computer-guided longarm services for these reasons - budget and time.

There are a few people who will invest in custom, hand-guided, and heirloom quilting for quilts they intend to enter in shows, or quilts that are very special to them, such as wedding or baby quilts. (For beautiful examples, google the works of Lisa Hagstoz-Calle, Bethanne Nemesh, or Margaret Solomon Gunn.) However, the expectations for that kind of quilting on those specialty quilts is very, very high - quilters demand perfect quilting for show quilts and are willing to pay for it.

The way I see it, if you really want to quilt for profit, then practice your FMQ skills until you can command and get premium rates for custom & heirloom quilting. Build a website and market yourself to people who are willing to ship their quilts to you and pay the higher rates. It will take time and a lot of work, but it's doable. There is definitely a shortage of this kind of quilter in my area.