How many of you...
 

How many of you send out your quilts to a LA quilter vs. quilting your own, be it hand quilting, tying, or machine free hand?

I do all my own quilting now, but used to send some out.

I can't afford to send quilts out (but I think I'd prefer to do them myself, even if I could afford it).

I have only sent one out. I had a quilt top I had purchased at a show that I wanted to give my step-daughter for her 20th wedding anniversary. I sent it out because she is a nurse and washes everything to death. I never saw it on her bed and she and her husband have split up. My husband paid for the quilting and I paid for the top. I am a hand quilter but I wouldn't waste it on someone who didn't know the difference.

Since I can't FMQ, I sent out all my 'good' and nice gift quilts to the LAQ. I use the walking foot and quilt all donation/charity/utility quilts myself.

I have quilted "all" my own quilts by machine. My nephew's wife just made me a quilt from my deceased sister's fabrics and she sent it out to be quilted. It was done very poorly. The quilting design did not really go with the quilt & all the thread tails were left loose.

I quilt all my own, either very simple FMQ or straight line quilting. I don't tie, (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

I raised my own children and I quilt my own quilts. :o

Just me, but I could never claim to have made a quilt if part of it was done by someone else.

I always do my own quilting. Far from a professional job but I would not think of it as my quilt if someone else did the quilting. Also I am a bit of a control freak and like to have the final say.

That is just my opinion and not necessarily right.

Mine are all done by me. I've thought many times about sending the larger ones out, but cannot afford it, and I feel it would be a little less from me also.

I quilt my own.

Haven't sent any out yet - BUT - am seriously considering it. I have too many tops that need to be finished and am thinking a longarmer will be able to help me get back to square one. I'm currently working my way through the Craftsy class - Creative Quilting with Your Walking Foot - and will be able to finish quite a few quilts on my own.

Has anyone sent any to MSQC to be quilted?

I do my own. Have tied couple small ones, repaired a couple small ones and quilted a crib size. Haven't done anything larger than crib. That was a cross hatch and about 10 years ago. Also made a diaper stacker. I quilted the fabric then cut the pattern. It was easier for me.

I do FMQ on my home sewing machine. I like doing my own start to finish. Sometimes it is a struggle but for the most part, in the end I'm happy with it. I'm not a show quilter, nor a perfectionist, so it works for me.

I send any bed size quilts to a Long Arm pro. I had gotten to a point where I would dread quilting a bed size quilt , because I just wrestled with it on my machine. It was very liberating... I could make quilts in very large sizes without thinking about the dreaded wrestling match that was to follow the piecing. The Long Arm Pro's I have worked with have done far more amazing quilting than I would.
For me its honoring , the sometimes 100 or more hours of piecing that I put into a quilt , to have someone who skills can do it justice quilt it.

I quilt my own...longarmers do great work,but it's not in the budget.

I can no longer handle hand quilting anything larger than a full. Can't baste anything bigger and my hands just won't hold up. I send maybe one quilt a year to a LAQ that does a lovely, simple job and is relatively affordable.

Since I didn't start quilting until I was 79, Queen size or larger, I have long arm quilted by a gal close to home who does it for a reasonable price. There is no way I could wrestle a large quilt through my small sewing machine. I love to quilt small items and enjoy all the FMQ practice I can get. I wish I had started this hobby years ago when I see all the wonderful work of forum members.

Right now currently send them out, but am working this year heavily on getting my FMQ skills up to par to be able to do my own because it is too expensive to send out. I currently have 4 almost 5 finished quilt tops which will be about 600+ dollars to have someone else quilt. I don't have 600+ dollars for that so here they sit unfinished as I am a perfectionist and refuse to ruin my gorgeous tops with my subpar quilting

My LAQ has about 20 of my quilts waiting to be quilted. Some quilts, I need quickly so I quilt them myself. I just finished a full size quilt on my small Bernina. I had no problem with it. I think I will be quilting more of my quilts now as I really enjoy FMQ and I hate waiting months to get a quilt back. I will say this, my LAQ is an awesome quilter. She does such a great job that I really shouldn't complain about the wait.

I've been working a lot on my quilting skills. Not being to actually quilt the quilt I made just didn't feel right. Now that I've been practicing on smaller projects I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere. It feels great! And I'm having fun!

I've always done my own quilting. It's my 2nd favorite part of the process (my favorite is designing the quilt).

I learned to do my own machine quilting. Nothing spectacular but it looks nice. I have used nationally known LAs and the work is fantastic. I show the local LAs what I want and they just shake their heads saying I'm asking too much. So I don't use them.

Mostly all my quilts are to be used and abused, so they are mostly straight line quilting on my DM. I have FMQ one baby quilt with a simple meandering stitch, but just can't seem to get the tension and my movement right. I do hand quilt anything that is worthy of it's time. I have no plans to make a quilt to show, or just sit on a bed. I've thought about sending a few to the LA'ers but I'ld rather spend that money on fabric than on perfection. My tops are not perfect and I've had not complaints yet. So until I feel one deserves such special treatment, my DM will have to do.

I have always quilted my own, my skills have not until recently been good enough to ever even consider sending them out, and even though my skills have somewhat improved my pocket book hasn't so don't think I could afford to send them out anyway.

I have always done a quilt as you go type quilting, now I do something entirely different, I have googled it and do not think anyone else does it.

I don't feel that a quilt is done by me unless I do everything. If you only piece it then have someone else quilt it, that is not done by me. I either do straight line quilting or use my embroidery machine.

I have quilted my own so far, but....... there is a special top I am gathering fabric for. It is going to be a king and the quilting on it (the picture I saw) was very intricate and involved. It is way more than I can do myself, so I plan to send it out. This one is going to be for me and I want the feathers and wreaths on it and cannot do those myself. (yet)

I have been giving myself the luxury of sending every 5th or 6th quilt to the LA quilter. She does a fantastic job and I can afford to do that on special quilts. However, I am getting better at machine quilting on my old vintage Singers and I love to hand quilt in the winter when it is nice and cozy to have the quilt on my lap while I am hand quilting. So, the answer is yes, I do upon occasion give myself the privilege of using my wonderful LA quilter just so she keeps doing it and the cost is worth it for her great talent.

Wow, I guess I'm not a "quilter". I didn't realize that I can't claim it is "my quilt " if my friend "Bob the Quilter" quilts it for me.i love to piece, but find it too difficult to quilt large quilts. I did not realize that fellow quilters were so judgmental

If you reread the responses carefully, you will find that people are giving their opinions on how they feel, themselves, not on what another person should do. No one is being judgmental.

Hugs,
Charlotte

I've always quilted all of my quilts myself, but the largest I've ever attempted is a large lap quilt or close to twin sized. I don't do anything too fancy and my FMQ is decent for stippling, but nothing complicated. If I'm doing it as a gift (almost always for family) I want to do the whole thing myself. I have a few larger quilts in my list of projects and will very likely use a long arm quilter for a queen sized quilt I want to do for myself.

I've done all my own though on two occasions I've hired the use of the quilting machine at the local quilt store to get a more polished finish on large quilts. Its a relatively cheap way to benefit from an LA. I like doing my own quilting its fun and really is the only way to improve, esp managing larger quilts.

I send my big ones out. I only get about one big one made every two years so not so expensive. I try to FMQ the twin and lap size on my DSM.

My niece has a long arm, so I pay her to quilt my Queen size quits, the smaller ones I can do. I don't see anything wrong with that, at least they get finished.

I mostly sent out before moving and not having a new job. So I've taken a LA class and now I'm starting to do them on my own. If I have an extremely special one, I'll still send that out because I'll need quilting beyond my capabilities.

I have been piecing for over 15 years and was a manager of a quilt store. I sent all of my quilts to a local LA pro, maybe about 10-15 quilts. Now that I am retired I have about another 10 tops and many UFO's. Two years ago I got a HQ16 and am now quilting my own and also for others.
I have friends that enjoy the piecing and designing of their tops so when i machine quilt it, I don't consider it my quilt, I do like to get credit for the quilting part of it

Mine either get tied or sent out

years ago I had two quilted by a professional but since then I have done all my own.

So far I have only quilted my tops myself, walking foot, FMQ and tying, but I am planning to send my SIL's wedding quilt to a long armer recommended by a friend. I wish I could afford to send out all of my tops. I much prefer to piece than wrestle a queen size through my DSM, which is the size I make the most. I have a 9" straight stitch machine with a frame, but I like my results better just working at my desk, the 9" is just too limiting with the frame poles in the way.