I'm fortunate that I'm not bothered by the weight/heat of having the bulk of the quilt on me when I quilt. I mostly use just a hoop and quilt in my lap. The only thing I find cumbersome is shift stuff around when I have to switch direction. I guess I'm also just naturally fidgety as I'm always shifting my sitting position - whether quilting or not - so being in one position for prolonged periods isn't really an issue either.
If you don't want something as bulky as an ironing board to rest the quilt, possibly one of the folding TV tray type tables? Smaller to deal with and folds up out of the way fairly easily???