Do you have to send a top to a long arm quilter or can you just quilt it yourself?
Goddess:
No, you do not have to send to a longarm quilter. I quilt my own and the blessing of doing these quilts, my free-motion quilting is getting so good. And, owing to the cost of shipping back and forth, you are better off doing all of the work yourself.
When I do the binding, I stitch on the backside first. Press ther binding on the back side. Press again on the top side (sometimes the raw edges get funky). Then you can use a decorative stitch as you turn the edges under. This makes the binding procedure easier. AND, I have found a red/white/blue varigated thread which I use for the binding as well as on the applique stars.
Thanks. Suzanne