Amount of machine quilting
I have been a hand quilter up to now. Currently the tops I have completed are piling up and need to be quilted. I know I won't be around long enough to hand quilt them all. I need to send some of them out for machine quilting. I love the softness of a hand quilted quilt. Some of my tops to be quilted are heirloom quality. The heirloom quality custom machine quilting I see is very closely stitched, stippling, mctavishing, echo quilting etc. It is beautiful, but makes the quilt stiff. Will these quilts soften up over time or does the amount of thread used in the quilting always keep it stiffer than a hand quilted quilt? Second question, is it okay to have an heirloom quality quilt machine quilted with less quilting? I am thinking trends come and go and I should have the quilts quilted in a style I like best. On the other hand, I have put years of effort in these tops and I don't want them to look cheap (for want of a better word.)