panderz

The vision problem has been diagnosed and will not be quickly resolved so I guess I will either have to hand quilt or give it up for a while sadly.

<3 Mandi <3

minibarn

So sorry to hear your vision problem will not be quickly resolved! Do you have a friend that could finish it for you? Hand quilting looks easy, and maybe for some it comes easy too, but for most it takes time and patience to get a stitch that you are happy with. As for size, look for 9 or 10 betweens, any number higher is a smaller needle that is harder to load stitches on, and much higher and the needle gets long and harder to control. I personally like the Thimble Lady thimble also, and while I have Roxanne needles, and they work fine, I find them harder to thread, so look for something w/a larger eye, especially w/your vision problem. And, make sure you have good light, that makes a big difference!

Hope things get better for you soon, and your quilt is great!

Becky's Crafts

Could you elevate your sewing machine, or perhaps lower your chair height to make it easier for you? Also do you use a "tilt table" which is a unit that sits at about a 45 degree angle that you put your sewing machine on so you aren't trying to sit forward as you sew to look down on your work which strains your neck/shoulder muscles? The other thing I was thinking was that it looks like you've done all of the dark end of the quilt with the quilting (which looks great by the way!), and you might try using a green variegated thread for the other part you haven't done yet. It might be easier to see it as you go along. It's definitely faster by machine than by hand. Good luck with whatever you decide & I hope we'll get to see it again when you finish!