I've been tackling this same problem recently. I was just trying to put the edge of the quilt in a hoop, but I think I am going to get a piece of muslin about 18 inches long x 12 inches wide and hand baste it to the edge of the quilt in the section I want to work on and then quilt that section. When done, the hand basting should be a breeze to take out. I just love hand quilting - it's so relaxing to me.