laffygiraffe

I quilt all my quilts by hand. I don't particularly like machine quilting or embroidery, although I have seen some nice work on here.
I also like to piece by hand, if it is an herloom, like for a family member.
One concession I have made to modernity is that I no longer make full-sized quilts. I enjoy making lap-quilts and sampler baby quilts.
So far this year I have made 5 projects ( a Hawaiiam quilting pillow and 3 lap quilts and a baby quilt.) I am about 3/4 done with a pieced and appliqued top (from a Thimbleberries book) for a lap quilt for my husband. It is almost entirely hand-pieced, hand-embroidered and will be hand-quilted to last long after I am dust.
I guess machine-quilting is the future, but I like the old-fashioned look and feel of the old way.

SueSew

I've been quilting for a little over a year and I have done all my own - first straight-line machine quilting, then muscling the quilt in my little Janome to get squares and outlines, and finally FMQ! the largest I have quilted is probably 5'x7'.
What I have learned is (1) match my design ideas to my ability to quilt and (2) quilting takes time. Most of my problems have been getting fancy designs I can't execute nicely, and being impatient to hurry it along so I can give it to whomever. Those 3 little words "quilt as desired" can result in just as much work as creating the quilt top does! My most recent quilt has SID, outline tracing squares, FMQ leaves and trefoil motif to match the fabric motifs, and wavy lines which follow the cable border stripe.

Maybe next time I will just meander little wave-curls around the quilt like a fancy mattress pad and be done with it!

KathyKat

I quilt my own and it really doesn't take that long. For a queen size with simple quilting like meandering or swirls it will take about 5hrs. If I use a stencil for some of it or do a more complex FMQ it will take a little loner. I think the most time I've ever spent quilting a queen sz was 8hrs and that used a different stencil in each of 3 borders and fmq around flowers in the quilt with meandering as a fill. I use my Viking Sapphire 870.

LynnVT

My experience is similar to many. I began hand quilting, then had some done professionally. Took a class in MQ, and do mostly small ones myself on my Janome 9000. Still keep thinking about the Sweet Sixteen machine I test drove at a recent quilt show. It's $4,000, though, and don't see how I could work that into the budget. Have no place to put a huge long arm, and didn't really enjoy it the time I took a class using one. Maybe things will change, but for now, I don't make many huge quilts anyway.

WMUTeach

I have always quilted my own. I am considering sending my latest quilt out for quilting because it is a queen and I just don't want to try it with my own little machine. I could never justify the cost of sending my work out when I could do the work my self and learn how to avoid problems, errors and so on.

collady

Mine fall into three categories: those that go to my long-armer, those that I machine quilt, and those that I hand quilt. Right now that is the order. More go to the LA than I machine myself. Only a very special few are hand quilted. I make most of my quilts to be used, not for storing in a closet, so I want them machine done.
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mloquilts

I send mine out for at least 2 reasons. I have a very good long arm quilter lady who is quite good & I think very reasonable in pricing. I'd rather use her so that I can get busy piecing my next quilt. I have a good relationship with her so she gets them done in a timely manner.

jbj137

I hand quilt my own.
J J

windycitygal

I quilt my own. I feel like the quilt is mine and all of the work should be mine. I also have a couple of good friend who lend me time on their LA machines. I FMQ smaller items at home.

VickiM

That's my answer, too.