I recently quilted a standard size quilt with pearl 8 cotton in big stitch baptist fan pattern and it actually went pretty fast. I have never been able to use a hoop for quilting. I generally baste closely with thread or lots of curved safety pins and work at my dining room table. I have a TV & music close by and a sliding glass door that overlooks woods - it's actually quite relaxing. Leah Day's big stitch quilting tutorial got me hooked.