I have been using a big hoop to hand quilt (my first try) my DGD quilt, but the braces get in the way. Took my 50% off coupon to JA . they have the frame made of pvc piping which is usually $110. (won't pay that much for pvc ) asked if I could use the coupon on that, and was told to just check the price to see if it was already on sale. Hah...on sale for 50% off. So now I have the frame, and the lady behind me got some 50 % off coupons. So it was a score for both of us. smile