I will agree with the majority here.
I think your quilt is very, very beautiful. I think you did a wonderful job on the piecing. I also think the quilting is done wonderfully as well.
I am sorry that you feel that it isn't done well or to your liking.
I have started to save images of machine quilting that I like so that I can tell/show my longarmer what I like or need for a quilt.
Don't be too hard on yourself. It is a beautiful quilt!
Kirsten

Could you move your avatar back a few feet....before I eat it!!!!!!!!

I agree with everyone - your quilt is beautiful.

Your kids won't notice any of the things your quilter's eye may notice and if you don't say you are disappointed with the quilting they will just be thrilled with the beautiful gift.

I'm not a quilt expert but I like it!

You gotta love that Pineapple Upside Down Cake!!!

I like it too! I am about to send a quilt to be machine quilted for the first time too, it is very nerve racking having someone else do it - but I don't think I can achieve the effect I am after myself.

I think it is very pretty.

Since you are used to hand quilting, I can see where the traveling lines in the baptist fans could bother you. But to do a baptist fan, on the LA, without traveling, would take your price to custom, which is what you didn't want to do. Your quilter did a great job with those travels. It's not always easy to get them right on top of each other.

When working with a LA quilter, communication is so important. Knowing your dislikes is just as important as your likes. If you don't like feathers or flowers, let her know that.

Hand quilting is not like machine quilting, and machine quilting is not like hand quilting. Some of our techniques mimic hand quilting, but we have to have a way to travel from block to block. For example, quilting a square block 1/4" away from the seams is something that a hand quilter can easily do. For machine quilting, we have two choices, quilt that 1/4" away, and have a start and stop in the block OR, we can do a continuous curve, going from corner to corner with a gentle curve and ending up in the starting corner and able to move to the next block. The effect is the same, but it is different to someone who is used to hand quilting. The first quilt I had machine quilted was the first time I even saw the continuous curve, and frankly, I didn't like it. After a couple of quilts, I grew to love the movement that those curves did to a quilt full of straight lines.

Please don't let this discourage you from trying a LAer again. As with any relationship, communication is the key.

I think it's really nice. I like how the thread stands out in some places... I don't think it's too much or detracts from the quilt.

:thumbup: