I baste on my machine in a 4 inch grid with water solvable thread on top,regular thread in the bobbin. I lap quilt without a hoop. If I use a hoop...I stitch 10 stitches to an inch( also using a spoon). Without a hoop..I do 8 stitches to the inch. I’m not a show quilter,so 8 stitches are fine with me.

LOL my attempts are looking more like 3 stitches to an inch so far! A little more practice needed, regardless of hoops...

Hang on, do you count the stitches on both sides? In which case it's 6! Phew :)

stitches per inch isn't law, consistency is :)
the shorter the needle the more stitches you will get. that is why quilting or betweens are so short. Just keep rocking the needle.
I learned to embroider first, with a little hoop, then went to needlepoint with a bigger hoop
so hand quilting seemed hoop natural!

I have an 18" oval and a 12" round, like both. It will be what you get used to I expect. Good basting will be key either way.

If you don’t have a hoop try it without ( you might be better off basting with Needle and thread instead of pin basting- I generally use large, long stitches and baste in a grid about 2” apart) if you find it difficult to quilt without then maybe borrow a hoop from someone to try it out. If you like the hoop better invest in one. Some people love using a hoop, some prefer a floor frame and some just hold the quilt on their lap. It’s all a personal choice.

I found that draping it over an ironing board and then quilting towards me off the edge of the ironing board with no hoop worked really well. The board could be adjusted to a comfortable height for wherever I was sitting, and the quilt could be slid over it to get at different bits. The weight of the quilt kept it in place so I could tug gently on it and maintain the tension. I used my left hand to support it - did have to remember to stop and wiggle my fingers every now and then so they didn't get stiff!

I tried a hoop (just a medium sized embroidery one I had handy to test the concept, but the same idea), and it made it really hard to control the stitches, I couldn't push the needle in and out in one go and I couldn't feel where it should go out again from the back.

Thanks for the tips everyone![ATTACH=CONFIG]619331[/ATTACH]