Originally Posted by pieces

I will start by saying, I am not a hand quilter.
I hand stitch my quilt bindings by hand, thats about it.
I send my quilts to a LAQ that does custom quilting.
She does great work and I'm always pleased
when I pick up my quilts.
I received a hand quilted quilt, 80% finished(12 blocks are done)
The four borders need to be hand quilted. The borders are cut 13 inches wide, and the quilter was using a 10 inch hoop. (which I received)
My question to the hand quilters here is-
Is it absolutely necessary to use a hoop?
I feel I could make better stitches if I didn't use a hoop.
She has 4 rows of basting running the length of the border.
Can I add more basting stitches and hand quilt these borders
without using a hoop? Is it absolutely necessary to use a hoop?
Would be glad to receive any advice on this topic from experienced hand quilters. Thank you.