I was gonna suggest the Aunt Becky thing too!

I have a quilt with a panel in the center I am hand quilting. It is the first quilt I have ever hand quilted. This panel has a Christmas theme to it with two horses and a kitty in side a wreath. I am hand quilting around all the animals and then around all the leaves in the wreath. I used Coats and Clark thread and am just sitting in my recliner chair with the quilt in my lap and quilting. I am real happy with how it is turning out. I have all the center with the horses done and the wreath and started on the red area around the wreath with a different color thread. I hope you are able to get started and wish you luck with your project. I have found i am really enjoying the hand quilting process. I also machine quilt but thought this panel with the horses would look nice with it handquilted around the horses.

I forgot to mention I have arthritis too and I can't do that rocking thing they do in hand quilting but I am managing just fine. I can't find a thimble that fits right for me. I folded over a piece of duck tape and made a circle out of it to fit my finger and it works great. I call it my redneck thimble...lol.

You cn make your own thimble to go underneith.
Get an old silver colored thimble that the dimples around the upper edge are smooth. Hammer the top down flat and use the edge to help guide your needle. It doesn't appear to dull the needle. Same principle as the "Aunt Becky" thing.

Thanks for the info.. are you using a hoop or just holding in your lap..

That's my kind of thinking... thanks for the idea...

No hoop....just holding my quilt in my lap.