I'm just finally starting to get back into quilting after having my right shoulder replaced in May; so I'm thrilled to be able to sew/quilt again without all that pain. I can quilt year round, as long as the electricity is on. LOL. I once hand quilted the very first quilt I made for my daughter; however, I used a hoop on top of my old dinette table; but I had a fan blowing directly on me and under the table, so it wasn't bad at all and my cat Mischief was quite happy to curl up on the quilt and watch me, and he only attacked the needle and thread occasionally.