I'm jumping in here too. Instead of basting muslin on the back of my embroidery fabric, I fuse a layer of light weight fusible on the back of the blocks, after I trace the design with a fine point pencil. All the handling it does pill a little but I think it is much easier to manage than the basted fabric. I use a hoop when I hand embroider, but a friend does the fusing, and likes it better because she doesn't embroider with one. Have fun, I love how relaxing the hand work is in the evening....and keeps me from snacking because I don't want to get the fabric dirty :)