i use a 14" round plastic hoop. i quilt in my lap, and i have found that it presents enough of a surface area for about 3 hours worth of quilting. that's a long time to sit still in one position doing the work.
and i second the thimble comment. a good thimble that is comfortable to wear for a long time is absolutely essential. i have about 6 different ones that i have tried, but always come back to the simple metal one that just seems to fit better than the others. for this perle cotton quilting i have had to switch to the clover leather thimble. i don't like it nearly as well, but because of the extra force needed to push the embroidery needle through the layers my metal one started to hurt my hands.
i am on the lookout for a fancier open front one like this one:
https://www.crimsontate.com/artisan-...le-bee/dp/1106
but i'm not about to spend $100 on it at this point. maybe soon though...never quilted with one like that so it seems a stiff price to pay if it joins the dusty collection at the bottom of the thread box!
aileen
aileen