artyjoan1

I hand quilt all my quilts. A good thimble is a must. Since I live in Florida and don't need a thick quilt, I sometimes omit the batting and use flannel as my backing and this is really easy to quilt by hand. I pin my quilts and use a hoop. Give yourself plenty of time.

the old one

Hand quilting is a great skill, takes some time to develop--use very good needles, the smaller the needle the better the stitches will be. I listen to music, helps keep the rhythm even. If you are lucky enough to find a group with a large floor frame, you will have wonderful times.

CathieB

Find a good quality, comfortable thimble. I love Roxanne thimbles - you get a custom fit and they are so comfortable that you forget you are wearing it.

Beachbaby12

I am piecing together Grandmother's flower garden pattern with 1930's reproduction fabrics - been doing this for several years now and find it relaxing and good therapy. So far, that's all I've done is the piecing and like it very much. Most people say it takes too long, and it does, but I love it so far. Enjoy and take your time - just do a little at a time and then the next thing, you'll see some beautiful results!

anita211

I handquilt. I started out looking for consistency, and got it fairly easily. However, I wasn't happy with the size of the stitches. Okay, fast forward after many hand quilted items. I couldn't find any #10 between needles. I had #12s, #9s, and a whole lot of #8s. Where the 8s came from was, and still is, beyond me. However, I perservered with what I had. I tried the 11s... they bent. I tried the 12s... too tiny, but no bending. Then I tried the 8s. Yeah, the needle is bigger. I can actually hold it without my fingers cramping up after 20 minutes. And, the size is getting shorter. I love it.

I do not quilt in a frame or a hoop. I am able to control the quilt better, and can use it to keep warm in the dead of winter. I guess this is why I don't handquilt much in the summer. It is too darn hot.

However you go about handquilting, enjoy the process. All comes in time.

Morag

I have a drawer full of thimbles and the one with the ridge is the best of all.... I use #10 James quilting needles and have the quilt loose in any of the three frames I use for hand quilting.... I love to hand quilt and am working on one with my guild members as a gift ..... It is a sampler and we used all civil war reproduction fabric....
As long as there are folks like us who love the process, hand quilting will live on

riutzelj

There is the Thimble Lady's long needle , very loose in the frame style, there is a short needle, looser in the frame style. i have been hand quilting for years. go for consistent stitch size first, then shorten the length of the stitches. i like the leather thimble for right hand and go ahead and go for callouses on the under finger. seems like the prick lets me know when to rock the needle back up. though now i do a hybrid of the short needle and Thimble lady style, using a short needle and i don't get the prick pain so much. Whee, what a run on sentence. Oh well, i'm not changing it. i also domestic FMQ when i'm trying to get something done faster.

redtweety

I like to, but don't always find the time.
Tips I found useful:
thread several needles, I like betweens, no longer than 18 inches due to tangling, I wind them on cardboard I have cut, so I am ready for the next one. I have trouble seeing to thread, so I thread several to not get frusterated while hand quilting.
strech fingers often. do not stay tight and sew more than an hour without streching. you will get sore.
I like matural beeswax to run thread over, it glides thru fabric so nice that way. Each time I start a new needle, I run the thread over my wax and sew with it. I found it doesn't work to do them ahead of time.
don't try to get too many stiches on needle, small even stiches are easiest when you only have a few stiches on needle before pulling thru.
have fun!

pal

I hand quilt on panels that are intricate -Pennsylvania Dutch type panels where there are lots of little things to outline or not to outline. It's very relaxing. Since I am a novice, I keep a balloon handy to pull the needle through! Maybe it's not the right way to do it, but I enjoy it so much! What a tension reliever. I use the stick-on pads for my fingers, no hoops, and tiny needles.

KLO

There is so much good advice here. I have only done a bit of hand quilting so reading most all of these responses has been enlightening. So, the only advice I can add is do a bit of hand quilting every day that you can. At first you may only be able to quilt for 15 minutes or perhaps an hour or somewhere in between. But just do it as best you can. Then do it again the next day and the next day and so on, increasing the time you quilt when you feel able to do so. As others said, it takes practice and if you do some every day, you will find what works for you and get comfortable doing it. You will get better and more comfortable with the process and make tiny, more even stitches as time goes on. If you only do some once a week or once a month, it will be hard to get good at it. Ask me how I know! Good luck, have fun, and just go for it!