i use the morgan hoop just love it when i first learned to hand quilt my quilt teacher didnt use a hoop she rolled as she went along

I'm doing DH's double wedding ring & it's so large I couldn't find anything that was working for me! What I did was spread it out across my big board, had him make me some 'door stopper looking thingys' to have my big board at an angle & it's working the best so far. NO hoops or anything. I would love to be able to sit in a recliner & use a hoop & do a block or two a night but it just isn't possible when it's like a super king size quilt....

Here's the lap hoop I like to use for hand quilting:
http://www.keepsakequilting.com/prod...PTOP-HOOP-.htm

It swivels so I can position the hoop any way I want, as often as I want. I keep the quilt very loose in the hoop; at least a fist's width of "give" in the center.

Yes, I do use a hoop, though the first quilt I made was quilted without one. On that first quilt, I tried to use a hoop but it just felt awkward. And it worked out fine. I tried a hoop again on my next quilt and managed to get the hang of it; now I always use one. When the subject came up recently, I tried quilting without one again to see how it felt, and quickly went back to the hoop! lol To me, it's easier to manage what I'm working on and keep it where I want it, if it's in a hoop.

As far as the tension- I used to keep mine pretty tight but now I've loosened it way, way up. (Some people suggest imagining a cat is laying on the middle of it- it sags.)It's much easier to rock the needle up and down, and to get smaller stitches when the tension is looser.

Gads, I don't do that anymore really.

But one year recently at Quilt Camp in the Desert - an almost week long series of different quilting classes held here in Phoenix at the end of January - they had someone teaching hand quilting without a hoop (or frame.) I sat in on the class briefly but holding the needle was too much for me to do for long.

So, now I know of quilters who do a variety of hand quilting: hoop, frame, and neither.

ali

I use a floor frame, which took some getting use to, but now I prefer it to a hoop.

Many hand quilters like a hoop because it's easier to turn the quilt so you sew towards your body. There are also a number of quilters who just baste the sandwich really well, and use no hoop at all.

Janet

I started out quilting with a hoop but, while traveling it was hard to change place while going down the road! I tried quilting without and found it wonderful. That was many years ago and I still hand quilt without hoop or frame....even large quilts.

Now I have another ? I watched Alex Anderson blog on hand quilting she said to start with a Size 7 betweens needle,Went to look aat needles found between 7 and 7 quilting and are two different sizes really confused. Might I have to give up before I even start.

First I use a hoop & quilt toward myself.
Second I discovered with my last quilt that when I got to the edge I could quilt without the hoop but when I went back to the middle I had to have the hoop.
Third When I started I used embroidery needles.I was that dumb. When I changed to quilting betweens I was pleasantly surprised! I use size 10s now but I did order the size 11 Roxanns 'cause I think that I'm ready to start with a smaller needle. Use the smallest needle you can & still have control then when your ready go down. You're so smart to investigate.

I don't like either of them to hand quilt.I prefer to sit it in my lap with no frame or hoop.