This thread is for the hand quilter's out there. Different regions of our great country (and countries around the world) use different quilting techniques. Some hand quilt, others machine quilt. Some use regular machines, other's use long arms or big professional machines. I've come across hand quilting here in the north, but it is mostly done with hoops. I've never tried this technique as I had no interest in hand quilting at the time.
I lived in the south for almost 3 years and LEARNED how to hand quilt on a huge frame that would take up most of a room. I know the ifs, ands, and abouts when it comes to quilting bees and how fun they are. All the handquilting I've ever done has been on a proper wooden frame. My house is small, and will not accomodate a frame bigger than my living room. I have a wide frame, that isn't very deep that could fit on one wall, but it cuts off the whole room. I'm not sure if I'll be able to put it up here at the house or not. So....I saw someone working on an embroidery hoop once doing hand quilting. How does all this stuff work??
I am aware of different types of frames. What type of frame do you like for your personal use....for hand quilting I mean. Not was you do at your group, but at home.
I've seen large wooden ones that can suspend from the ceiling or come up from feet on the floor. They can be rolled to get to the center of the quilt, but mostly they take up the whole room.
I have a wooden one too, it's only 14-16 inches deep, but it's over 100" long and needs a whole wall in the living room.
I've seen the wooden hoops that look like embroidery hoops. Wouldn't you have to baste the daylights out of a quilt so it wouldn't shift using a hoop? Wouldn't the hoop create natural folds in the fabric from being pressed inside the hoop? Do those folds go away? Wouldn't a hoop break if the fabric it was holding were too thick? I suppose you'd have to get a specific "quilting" hoop in a bigger size than an "embroidery" hoop.
I've heard of a small quilt frame made of PVC pipe, but I've never seen one. Does anyone know how they work? How much do they cost, etc?