I had the same experience. My son-in-law built me a large standing quilt frame to hold up to a king-size quilt but it was so awkward to get my stitches even. I then tried several hoops and I got tired of all of the stopping to change the position of the hoop. I am now working on a queen size whole cloth quilt with a lot of leaves and curves and I am just holding it on my lap. I have done several quilts in this fashion and I love the outcome. I machine quilt baby quilts and some wall hangings but I always love the look of hand quilting the most.