Hi Teddysmom:
Welcome to the world of hand quilting. My favorite thing. I don't do much of it any more but love it. I have all kinds of frames, and hoops, and love using them all. Although I can do them all, and enjoy it, my favorite is lap quilting. You can turn that hoop around so you can quilt in the direction that feels most comfortable for you.
One of the frames I have is a PVC pipe floor frame, and once I get the quilt pinned put it on it and I quilt around each block. This thoroughly stabilizes the entire sandwich and I then put the frame away and hand quilt on the hoop. I also had problems with things catching on pins. If I don't feel like getting the floor frame out, I actually move the hoop around till I have all the blocks outlined and stabilized (make sure everything is straight as you move the hoop), and all the pins can go into the pin jar and I can enjoy my quilting.
Hope this helps.