Faintly Artistic

Can't afford to have them longarmed and I don't have the patience to machine quilt! So I big stitch hand quilt almost all my quilts.

kuntryquilter

My husband quilts mine on our long arm quilter. He also quilts for other people.

Rose_P

It seems to me that much of the increasing popularity of quilting has something to do with the relative ease that we have of getting these projects done. In my case, I do them on a sewing and embroidery machine because, although I admire hand work, I don't have the patience or desire to do that. It's a hobby and so I focus on what I find enjoyable, which is both the piecing and the quilting. I could probably get a nice longarm set up and do have the room for it, if I got rid of some stuff we don't use, such as a treadmill. I've watched how that process is done and so far it hasn't attracted me enough to justify the expense. I could buy a lot of fabric for what those things cost. Quilting my own is a bit of a challenge as I do it now, but I don't want other people to finish my projects. I like to see them through to completion on my own, even in the case of the ones that fall by the wayside for months or years - the UFO pile! Eventually, I rediscover them and get inspired to finish them, and it's always rewarding to have accomplished something.

Ultimately, it's fine whatever means people want to use to get their quilts done, because these days we create quilts because it's what we want to do. The fact that many people who are participating in this hobby can justify the cost of either buying a longarm setup or sending their quilts out just illustrates that the hobby has caught on increasingly among people who have more money than time. That shouldn't be too surprising in a society where most adults have full time jobs.

maviskw

I have quilted many ways. First it was tying, which I still do sometimes.
A few times I machine tacked: made little tacks with the sewing machine, looks sort of like tying without the strings.
I have cross hatched, and stitched in the ditch.
I've done free motioned loops; drawn things like leaves, mushrooms and words and such.
Not too long ago, I tried meandering and was surprised how easy it was and how beautiful it turned out.
I've sent a few out to be quilted. Three were beautiful, one was not. I had to rip a lot of it out and redo it.
When I see something new, I want to try it. Ruler quilting is out there now but haven't tried it yet.

ekuw

I quilt my own on my Janome 8900 Memory Craft. I bought it mainly for the 11' harp, but it's head and shoulders above what I began quilting on. I started quilting on a small Kenmore that I bought my daughter. I made a few quilts, including a king size that I shoved through the little throat space on that one. Since the first quilt I made I was "obsessed" with quilting and realized something had to give. For me quilting is costly enough without paying someone else to do the quilting, so I decided I better learn. Initially it was very intimidating , but the only way a quilt was going to get finished was by yours truly, so it forced me to learn. Every quilt was an opportunity to practice a new motif or technique. I use both a walking foot and do FMQ. I took a class on Free Motion Quilting that was a tremendous help. It allowed me to face my fears and move from a basic level to become more proficient. It's still not my favorite part of quilting, but now it's just a part of the process, and I do a decent job. I suppose if money were no object I would probably use LA quilter occasionally...actually if money were no object I would probably buy a Long Arm. I've never tried it so the aspect of moving the machine over the quilt is intriguing to me. That said, it's not something I have to have. I am perfectly fine with quilting on my DSM unless my financial fortunes change :-)

Chasing Hawk

I do all my own quilting. I love the look of a good hand tied quilt. I used to machine quilt on my Bailey, but have not used it in along time.

I prefer hand tying and QAYG but may get a hand quilter frame.

hobbykat1955

I'm no good at free motion so use to just stitch in ditch. Then I discovered I could quilt via my walking foot. But now just hoop and let my emb machine quilt for me.

JustAbitCrazy

I do it all. Most are quilted on my Gammill, smaller projects on my Babylock Sashiko, and sometimes I hand quilt. The one thing I don't like to do is tie quilts, so maybe I don't do it all, lol. I only tied one quilt and that was enough of that for me.

MarilynS

I have been quilting for years. Initially pieces by hand , then began machine quilting. Started a Quilt group at my church and was doing more and more tops both for myself, charity and fund raising. Initially I did hand quilting but it was so slow and because I was piecing more, found the need to send quilts out. I was lucky to ind a longsrm quilter on my immediate neighborhood , but it became very expensive. I used her services for years until she decided to give up the business due to get illness and costing fir her husband who was also ill. I had always wanted s long arm but none was within my budget. I moved to a new state, had no resources st selfie quilting and decided to look at the HQ Avante. I talked to my old longsrm quilter who had a Gamilland she thought the HQ would work well for me. She was right, I bought and am extremely happy with it. I am learning more techniques and patterns. I only Quilt for myself and all of my quilts are gifts to friends and family members and community service projects. I am now starting to keep a few for myself and I am a happy longsrm quilter.

petthefabric

In the begining, I had way more ideas than time. Also, I wasn't confident with my abilities and equipment. Since I was working FT, I had more money than time. So anything larger than a throw, I sent to a LA. Pretty soon I discovered my "voice" and no one could give me the same style. Then I discovered art quilts and decided my style had to be from start to finish. The larger quilts lanquished. I purchased a Brother Novelle 1500S. The art quilts got finished and eventually I became confident to do it myself on a domestic machine. Then I acquired a Gammil LA, 12'. Finished up the larger quilts and LA quilted for a few other people. I still do domestic machine quilting on most quilts because my art quilts are small.

Cost, I charge up to 2.5 cents/square inch for panto and upward from there for custom. And a minimum of $50 for the quilting above batting or binding.

All this to say, each person needs to decide their passions, resources, skills, time.