My mother was an award winning quilter. When she won the prizes, she quilted with #50 thread and a 9 between needle. She had old roller-style frames. She used the rocker method mentioned above. She consistantly got 10 to 12 stitches per inch. I'm not that good. I'm still waiting for a LA. One of my favorite QB friends uses Hobbs, wool batting. They even have a silk batting now. Saw it in Paducah. Good luck and don't give up. It takes years to be a superb quilter. I may not last that long.

My favorite thread for hand quilting is YLI for hand quilting.

For hand quilting, I love using a Touch of Silk.The needle just seems to glide through it. I have never been able to use a thimble, and didn't have sore fingers using the silk.