I just unpicked a single line of machine "stitch in the ditch" on a quilt for my grand-daughter. I was in a rush to be done with it to beat a birthday presentation and after just the one line, her quilt screamed "STOP!" I decided this one would be better in the end with Gram`s uneven, but loving stitches. Years from now, those stitches will mean alot more to her than having received the quilt a month sooner. AND I found some variegated thread perfecto mundo for it. The decision was meant to be. Heart motifs, her name embroidered in, little bits of whimsy here and there. I`m a stitcher first and a quilter second so I truly enjoy the extra "work".
I gave her her first "piecing lesson" on this quilt. (She was 9) She and I know which block is HERS, she did very well and nobody else would ever know. I can let her take her first hand quilting stitches on it as well, thus passing on my addiction, I mean a meaningful hobby, to a new generation.