Originally Posted by
nccatbird
Andrea, I have been drooling over your whole-cloth quilts for a few days now. I am just starting hand-quilting and have a couple of questions for you. When doing a whole-cloth quilt, do you begin in the middle of the quilt first? Second, I have tried several different hoops and my arms are so short, they all seem too cumbersome. What do you think about hand-quilting without a hoop?
You are truly an artist and I so appreciate you sharing your talent with us. Blessings
Hi!
You are right, I begin to quilt in the middle of the quilt. Most of my wholecloths have a center medaillon and this is what I do first. Then I quilt towards the edges. The only exception are Strippy quilts - I start with the stripe in the middle and work it to the edges on the top and the bottom, next are the stripes besides.
I quilt in a 18" hoop on a stand (Jasmine Easy Spinner) and I do all my quilts in it. For me this is the best way because I only quilt in one direction - towards my body - and I can turn my work. Furthermore the quilt has the right tension to keep it even. Of course you can quilt without a hoop, this is a matter of personal choice and I know many quilters who do it like this. But in my opinion the quilting looks different when it's one without a hoop or frame, it is more crinkled and I prefer another look. But this is just my humble opinion...
Maybe you can try to use a 14" hoop and this works okay for you! If not... give it a try and quilt without one. It's always best to find your own way of quilting!