I also quilt for my own pleasure and I like my quilts. They are not entered into shows. I try and make them as close to perfect as I can but that may not be perfect in the eyes of a judge. I also quilt my own on my Brother PQ1500. I do an acceptable job. No one that I have ever given a quilt to has commented on the quilting. They comment on the fabric and patchwork. I have even convinced a lot of my friends to do straight line quilting on many of their quilts if they don't like FMQ (which I do) and save a few bucks by not paying a couple hundred to a long arm
quilter.