Oh yeah, there are lots of us...I just enjoy the slow process, however the lady from I think Germany, I cannot hold a light to her....I have done 12 -15 quilts so far started 3 yrs or so. My Mom quilted and tried her best to teach me while I was working, somethings stuck, but had no idea when I started would just consume my thoughts...I start looking for the next idea when I just start one...memepeggy

I prefer to hand quilt but can only do that in winter as it's just too hot in summer here. I find it very relaxing to hand quilt.

I hand quilt. I'm currently working on a king size quilt as you go quilt. It will probably take me years to finish it but I love it.

I just finished hand quilting a quilt for a friend. She had embroidered the blocks and set them together. I love to do those as I don't have to mark them. I hate marking. I would quilt for someone who would do my marking for me. I have taken several lessons for machine quilting, but I just can't make it look like the pros do. I can't stitch in the ditch as I can't stay in the ditch, even with a stitch-in-the-ditch food.

Hinterland....

I was wondering if you could explain a little more about the netting? Once you trace the pattern on to the netting what are you marking on the quilt with? Also....I have always used a hoop when I hand quilt, how difficult is it to not have the quilt pulled smooth and tight and just hold it ? Is there any trick to it? I tried it once, but only for about 5 seconds and then quit and went back to the hoop..

Any suggestions would be appreciated...Laura

I do all my quilting without a hoop. I just can't get the hang of using a hoop. I have no problem quilting without a hoop, I just make sure the quilt is basted real good. Then I curl up on the couch and spread the quilt around me and start quilting.

Yes, I hand quilt all my quilts. I love doing it and it seems more personal. motorhome quilter

I hand quilt and prefer it over machine quilting. I find it very relaxing.

I only do hand quilting. I would like to do some machine quilting but I do not like the look of machine quilting. I know, I'm old fashioned. It does take a lot of time but it is very relaxing to me. Give it a try and see what you think. :-D

I hand piece and hand quilt. For me it is not how many quilts I can get done it is the pleasure of doing something with my hands that usually produces something I like. When I sew at the machine I hurt my back and want to hurry up and it just isn't as much fun as sitting in my big chair and watching something stupid on TV and sewing away. I also like to think of hand quilting and hand piecing as getting more bang for my buck. I tell myself I can spend more money on material because it will take me longer to make the quilt therefore I will get more for my money. Ha! I have a little plastic frame that I use. I put my feet up on a little stool and I can lean back and sew without it hurting my back or my neck or anything else. It is lovely!

I think there is a place for both. I'm doing a Dear Jane right now...I've hand quilted all the blocks and am machine quilting some in the border. I think everyone should do what is comfortable for them!

I am new to hand quilting -the more I do it the more I enjoy the proccess.

Another hand quilter checking in....I just recently started machine quilting so I could finish quilts for the grandkids quicker. And since they would get washed and handled more, I decided that machining them would be best. But my first love is hand quilting. There's nothing any more soothing. Hmmm, I'll have to try the audio books while hand quilting. Great idea!

I continue to hand pieace and hand quilt. I can hand quilt a king size on my floor stand hoop in approx. a month or so. I also mq and piece. I hand quilt for others .

I loved hand quilting but my hands just can not do it anymore. Just to painful. Now I am machine quilting on my domestic machine and teaching others how to do it. I do still do needle turn applique. I hate machine applique.

I do both hand and machine quilting. I am doing 2 farmer's wife quilts, one hand pieced and one machine pieced. I know the hand quilting will take a long time when the top is done, but for me hand piecing and quilting is so relaxing. I can hand piece and quilt while sitting watching/listening to the tv, sitting with my DH, and take it along when we travel. And I machine piece and quilt upstairs in my own little private world. Life is good when I have a place to go to escape from the DH too!!

My SIL`s had quilting party`s and we had sooo much fun hand quilting. Ofcourse I was the youngest and didn`t know how to do it. I think they took mu stiches out after I left and did it over. So I made an easy quilt, you know, sheets on top & bottom. and sewed around the print. By the time I was done, it looked O.K. but wanted to get better, and bought myself a "hand quilting needle" It was about 1" long, I couldn`t see the hole to thread it. Why was it so SMALL?

I hand piece and hand quilt. It is my relaxation and therapy. I guess I am just an old traditionalist. I love making scrappy quilts and backing them with muslin just as my GM did. We do have a much better grade of muslin these days. I think my GM called it "domestic".

i hand quilt,but od small things on the machine. If i could fmq i probably would do lots more on machine. i do enjoy hq, but my stitching leaves a lot to be desired!!!

I machine piece, hand applique, and hand quilt. I do longarm quilting as well and am getting quite good at it. I do a lot of community quilts and it would be impossible if we didn't machine quilt them! But for those very special quilts, I still will hand quilt them

I machine quilt the quilts that will be 'dragged to the beach', or ones that will be used a lot. Save my had quilting for special quilts. It takes a long time to hand quilt a full/queen size quilt. I do my handquilting in the evenings while sitting with my DH.

I love the results of hand quilting. Someone told me that hand quilting lasts longer as there is not one single thread that can be pulled and unstitching done as with a machine.
To me I feel I have more control with the stitches by hand than by machine. I have a 114 inch quilt that I am going to put into a frame and hand quilt (just as soon as I make the frame!)

Laura, once I have the pattern on the netting, I pin it to the quilt and trace using chalk pencils. I can use Prismacolor pencils, but they don't transfer as clearly. Once I have the pattern traced, I go over the marks without the netting - that makes them dark enough to see.

I do have to be careful not to distort the pattern - the netting isn't stable and can stretch a bit if I have to reuse it for a border. I don't think my borders ever come out exactly the same on all 4 sides, but they're close enough.

This method does allow me to transfer a complicated design without spending as much time making templates as quilting would take!

As for quilting without a hoop, I've never done it. I use a floor frame, and a hoop for small projects. I like the frame because it's sturdy and I don't have to balance the hoop while I try to make stitches.

I'm new to quilting, only a little over a year, but I love to hand quilt. I'm not great at either hand or machine quilting but the hand quilting seems to be more relaxing to me. The quilt in my avatar is one of the first quilts I made in an intro to piecing class that I took last spring and I hand quilted it. I'm am now hand quilting a king sized log cabin quilt that I am making for a friend as a wedding gift.

I was looking at a Jinny Beyer CD that teaches you to hand piece and I think I'm going to order it just to try something different. It is so amazing that the quilts made in the 1800 were hand pieced and hand quilted and they were just beautiful

I love to hand quilt. I am trying to get better at machine quilting, but I find I have so much more control with hand quilting! I'm finding more stores are starting to carry hand quilting supplies again so I'm wondering if more people are starting to go back to it. Sure hope that is the case as I don't want this to end up being a dying art form.

I do both, but I only hand quilt with a group or on a project that doesn't have to be finished soon. My machine quilting is a lot better than my hand quilting IMHO.

I am teaching myself to hand quilt. It's pretty cool to see how your progress each day, stiches getting smaller. I am spoon quilting, easier on my fingers.

I hand quilt all my quilts don't have the space for a machine not as good as I should be but I still like doing it.

I am working on hand quilting Grandmother's flower garden with 1930's fabric. It seems mostly everyone does machine quilting but I really enjoy hand quilting: it's portable and relaxing for me.

Beautiful work!! I have only hand quilted some pillows. I have arthritis in my hands and that limits the time I can work at it. I love the look though and have a couple of old bed size quilts that have been completely hand pieced and quilted. I love them to pieces... :thumbup: :lol:

I have been a hand quilter for over 30 yrs. Machine quilting was a no-no then unless it was a baby or utility quilt. I just finished hand quilting a king-size lone star quilt and I tho't I would NEVER get done and I hated it. It has now "rested" in a trunk for a few months and when I get it out I love it again.

When I first came back to sewing and quilting this last summer I dabbled a bit in everything. For me personally I find hand quilting wonderfully relaxing and machine quilting physically exhausting. Since I quilt for relaxation and enjoyment I have over the past few months converted to almost entirely hand sewing (piecing and quilting). I break out my machine from time to time, for quilts that I know will be well "loved", but otherwise it is needle and thread for me.

i hand quilt mostly and machine quilt- hand is much more controlled- but for wall hangings and baby quilts machine is great also-- but how about some advise- what brand of needles do you use- just got Roxanne- I tend to bend John James very quickly- what do you do at the edges - I use a hoop and a floor frame- I have attached a wast fabric for the floor frame but forgot to do on the whole cloth queen size quilt I'm doing at the present- I done 3 queens-one full - I pinned them all and that worked pretty well- but the next one I do I'm going to it the old fashion way- any advise on basting? Will any kind of thread work?

Back in the "old days" I always thread basted. Now I just pin baste. Since you will be pulling your basting threads, use up your old threads or you can buy a basting thread which is cheaper than most threads.

I have hand quilted for 20 years and have just started experimenting with FMQ. I am terrible at it. The only thing I do that looks OK is stipple. Almost done hand quiliting my avatar and will post when done. Next is a double wedding ring. It will be a lot easier than the compass. I have not done a whole cloth yet but working up the nerve after what I have seen on this great site.

I too love to hand piece and hand quilt. I believe that it is so relaxing. I take a carry along project when we go to dr as waiting at VA sometimes is long. Always enjoy the time hand piecing.

ditto....

I handquilt on a Hinterberg frame
I found on Craigslist.
Completed 4 queens last year.
J J

I also hand quilt and never consider anything else. Fingers getting old and need resting at times so then I cut fabric for next quilt! I hand quilt while watching TV in the evening using one of the Ott Lites to put light only on my work not disturbing anyone else watching. The easiest quilt to handstitch was an Irish Chain (Queen Size) - the most difficult one was a Wandering Path (or Winding Ways) (twin size because of the curves. I do not use a quilt frame (don't have the room but baste thoroughly my layers and maneuver the quilt around my lap. Each to his own on this but kudos to those who still hand quilt.

bdsmith,
I prefer the #11 of the John James brand, they work best for me. I quilt in a hoop on a stand and if necessary I bast some waste fabric strips at the edges so it is easier to put the quilt in the hoop for quilting the border patterns. For basting I use the "old fashioned way" of thread basting and I've never had any problems with it.

I love hand quilting not only because it is relaxing, portable or easy to control - I also do it and do wholecloth quilts because I feel something like a duty in me. I have the talent and the patience for it and I see this as a gift to keep an traditional craft alive in a world where many valuable human skills seem to disappear. The more quilts I can do, the more I feel somehow "born to hand quilt". Maybe that sounds extreme or over-emotional - but that is how I feel.