Hand or Machine Quilted - Right or Wrong

I've been doing a lot of blog reading lately.  So many different opinions about quilting.  None right or wrong, just different.  Let it be known that I was quilting when quilting wasn't cool.  I love everything about it.  I consider myself a traditional quilter.  Most of my quilts are hand quilted.  I just think it brings more authenticity to the quilt.  Doesn't mean I don't admire the machine quilters and their quilts.  I have done some machine quilting myself.  But when I want the quilt to seem "special", or if I'm afraid I'll mess it up otherwise, I always hand quilt it.  And I am not your ordinary hand quilter.  I don't use a frame; I don't use a hoop and I don't use a thimble.  I baste my quilts on the floor with needle and thread.  I will usually thread five or six needles and go to town, basting about every six inches vertically and horizontally.  The basting is tight enough that the layers do not shift.  Then I  quilt it in my lap.  Doesn't matter what size the quilt is.  I have hand quilted anywhere from baby size to king size, all in my lap.  I've had many quilters tell me I wasn't doing it right.  But I think the finished product speaks for itself.  The largest quilt I ever made was my king size grandmother's flower garden quilt that covers my bed.  I made this one "wrong", too.  No paper piecing, I just hand stitched each hexie to within 1/4 inch of the end of the piece leaving enough of an opening so that the Y could open to accommodate the next interlocking hexie.  Every part of that quilt was completely hand sewn.  And I'm sure a lot of quilters would say I broke every rule in the quilting bible.  But I think it turned out amazing.  And apparently so did the quilters who grade quilts for the state fair, because it won a blue ribbon. 

I guess my point in all this rambling is to say, there is no right or wrong to quilting.  Whatever works for you. 

So if you get a chance, wander over to my flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/15989528@N06/  and take a look at some of the quilts I've made.  You will see a variety of them.  Some hand sewn and others machine sewn.  But each and everyone of them made me happy.