I love handquilting and pieceing by hand. I mark and cut when I can. But, when I sit, I have one or the other to work on. I use a #8 needle. The smaller the needle, the better. But, it needs to be a strong one too. I've bent and broke a few in my day. I lay my baking in the floor and smooth it out as best as I can, face down. then I lay my batting on top. Then I lay my top on, face up. I smooth it the best I can then I start pinning. When it is pinned together, I place my hoop in the center of it and fasten it down. then I check the back and pull out any puckers. I use a thimble with the lip around the edge to avoid slippage. I try to make my stitches as small as possible and uniform. Small is not as important as being uniform. You can do this with practice. I sit in my recliner, with my feet up to help balance my hoop. Also this makes it comfy to watch tv while I work. Hope this helps.