This is a tough one. When I joined the board I noticed an overwhelming amount of machine quilting and I wondered the same thing. I agree that our ancestors would have probably machine quilted like crazy if it had been available. My problem with MQ is that it does not look the same as hand quilting to me. In this day and age (lots different from our ancestors) machine quilting is probably going to get even more popular. I hand quilt but I won't have nearly as many go give others. I think whatever works for you is what you should do. I also agree that LQS wouldn't have a chance if everyone hand quilted. In my opinion if you make a quilt you make a quilt- no rules on how it's made!

I machine quilt, my neice, 28 years old, hand quilts and loves the process. She will be doing it for awhile and has passed it on to her little girls.

I'm making a series of 3 quilts for my sons. I am using all antique cottons- wow, they are hard to find in good shape! But I have and they are beautiful. I will hand quilt them and hope that I live long enough to finish :D

I've only hand quilted one small piece so far, but I'm going to do the Jane Stickle quilt and like Lacelady, I would like to quilt each block as it's being done. She quilted each block on batting, and is in the process of connecting the blocks and hand quilting through them. When she finishes, she will put a backing on it and quilt straight lines to keep it all together. It's coming out beautiful!

Hand quilting is overwhelming for me and I'm not sure my wrists could take the constant motion of doing it. I have never tried doing it on a large piece because it seems like I would never get to the end. Maybe I should just suck it up and do it! :lol:

There is no doubt as to the appreciation people have for hand quilted items. Fancy machine quilted items can be really nice also, but hand quilted items seem to have more put into them from the heart. That's my two cents!

If you think of quilting as a trip, hand quilting is like walking to your destination, and machine quilting is driving a car. Each has their own benefits, and one is not better than the other.

Janet

If I had to hand quilt I would not be a quilter.
We have so many patterns out there and so many I want to do.
I would lose interest in the one I was working on and want to do something else that caught my eye. Right now there are at least 3 quilts I am so wanting to do.
I also agree that hand quilting was a necessity until sewing machines were invented.
We no longer ride horses for travel.

I enjoy the hand quilting process. I also can't machine quilt worth a damn but that will be changing soon I hope. I have too many quilts in me wanting to get out and I can't hope to finish them all without doing some by machine. That said, I will hand quilt for as long as I am physically able. I can get a level of detail and control that I don't think is possible with machine quilting, even with somebody as skilled as Green Fairy. Here is a link to my most recently posted pics of my current hand quilting WIP. Do you think that can be done by machine? I don't mean that snarky like I really would like an honest opinion from experienced machine quilters is it possible to quilt those kinds of motifs with that level of detail by machine?

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-47093-1.htm

Heck I just got the hang of it...I am not stopping now. I will however, NOT use No.5 Perle cotton to quilt with ever again unless it is just for embelishments. I used it on a whole cuddle quilt and just got it finished enough to bind it recently. I used it and it took me 2 years to finish in my spare time...lol.

I handquilt and I surely hope it's not dying out. I have tried machine quilting but for the life of me I can't make it work for me! I did a Downy Quilt for Kids quilt that requires only machine quilting and I did such a bad job on it I haven't sent it out yet. They say that machine quilting lasts longer and stands up to repeated washing better but I have quilts that I hand quilted 10 years ago that have not come apart so I don't know where they get the idea that hand quilting will not hold up--it's just a slower process. I enjoy the relaxing time I spend with my family watching TV and quilting!

I sure hope that handquilting never dies out... I admire those that can and do this craft :D:D:D