Dandish

Hello all you hand quilters!

I've been making quilts for 10+ years, doing 99% of it by machine. I have hand pieced a few blocks, and briefly "played" with hand quilting a little bit a long time ago. I have a few hand quilting frames and hoops (large and small). A friend and I have decided to piece together an Amish inspired quilt (probably square in a square), set it up in one of the larger frames, and try our hand at hand quilting. I purchased an array of Kona cotton solids, the color selection was fabulous. Upon reading more on the subject, I've read that Kona may not be the easiest to hand quilt, especially certain colors of Kona. I've read others love it.

So, do you love to hand quilt Kona or have you found it difficult? Is it a bad choice to begin/learn with? We are not expecting a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination - we figured the solids were a great way to be able to readily see our stitches, and if we keep track of where we started then hopefully by the time it's done we'll be able to see our progress/improvement. I don't want to set us up for frustration, though!

Also, what is your favorite batting for hand quilting, especially combined with the Kona? We won't use the Kona as a backing. What is your favorite method of basting for hand quilting? Any other special tips or hints for needles, timbles, thread, etc? I've done quite a bit of reading and much seems to come down to personal preference, yes?

Thank you for your help!