I don't think I'd be comfortable with anything on a stand of any sort - lap or floor. I wiggle around way too much while I'm quilting so I just use a hoop in my lap or sometimes no hoop at all. And I just buy the cheapie hoops at JAF. They are only a couple of bucks; last a reasonably (several years) time and are easily replaced. I've been quilting for about 15+ years now and so far have only purchased 2 for < $10. Works for me.

I am thinking this is the place to ask for input, I have already learned a lot from the above comments. I am getting ready to hand quilt a crib size quilt. What do you recommend for marking the fabric (a huge fear of mine is that it won't come out) and how best to hand quilt it. I have a large hoop with a leg that free stands, and it will tilt, should I start with that or a smaller hand/lap one?

I would start with a small, swiveling lap hoop. One problem with a large hoop is that the arm reach can be fatiguing. By free stand, do you mean it stands on the floor? That would be a floor hoop. Also, if it has a large oval frame, it was originally designed for tapesty and needlework, I think; not necessarily ideal for quilting.

Marking is a huge topic in its own right. Are you marking stencils, or ? In general, I think the Crayola Ultra Washable fine markers work pretty well. If you do a search on them here on the QB you will find a number of threads with lots of info about them. All of the colors seem to come out, although some come out easier than others.

The most important thing I learned from hand quilting my first quilt is that batting choice is ***extremely*** important. I would highly recommend Hobbs 80/20 for ease of quilting and nice loft. If you want all-cotton batting, then look at the Quilter's Dream cotton battings (although you will not get as much loft). I recommend that you NOT use Warm and Natural or Nature's Touch, as these are cotton battings that are needlepunched through scrim. Scrim creates additional drag on the needle which makes hand quilting more difficult than it needs to be. Hobbs 80/20 is a great batting to start with and will be much easier on your hands.

I received my quilt hoop from Thimble Lady last week and I was so excited; unfortunately I found it uncomfortable to sit on the hoop and it was difficult to keep turning a queen size quilt with the hoop. I might use it for smaller quilts but I am now doing my hand quilting without a hoop as that is my favorite way. I am using the Thimble Lady's technique for hand quilting and I find it is so much easier on my hands.

Losie thank you for sharing your feed back. I wish there was a store where I could go try out all the different lap hoops before ordering one, lol.

If you have the ability to get to a fairly good-sized quilt show, you might find a vendor or two that has some hoops. When I was last at the Lancaster, PA show (several years ago now) there were vendors there that had hoops for hand quilting.

Good idea NJQuilter thanks. I'll have to find out when and where now.

I have a floor hoop that I need to sell. You can PM me if you like.

I've used the Hinterberg lap hoop for hand quilting, and I think it's awesome! I never could quilt while holding a hoop at the same time.