Thank you everyone and great tip to try a chair Joe's mom. Think I'll go for the thimblelady one and treat myself to a thimble as well. I like using a hoop, but never tried a lap one so think it better so see if I get on with using one before splashing out on a Barnett one.

Elnan I came across Jeans YouTube videos yesterday and googling found I can get an Aunt Becky here so going to order one and see if I can do it with some practice :) xx

I kinda knew about hoops but I was in a hurry to make a quilt, so I just started. Hoopless in Phoenix!!

[QUOTE=twinkle;7795694]Hi all I was going to buy a Barnett lap hoop, but the postage to the UK is really bumping up the price and then I saw online one by thimblelady, which looks good and works out a lot cheaper so I'm not sure what to do now. I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on either thank you xx[/QUOT

I also looked at the Barnettt hoop but the shipping is too prohibitive. I wish I could find something similar here. There is a missed opportunity for a UK manufacturer. It is also difficult to find a hoop that is more the 3/4" deep so I could ask my son to make me a stand. I purchased an Aunt Becky from The Cotton Patch, but still trying to get used to it.

I am very low income on disability, so buying a fancy hoop was not in my budget, so I improvised. I bought a large 18" wooden hoop at a secondhand store, parked a dining room chair in front, but off to the side of me on the couch (so I could watch movies). That way I could lean the top of the hoop on the chair back, the bottom in my lap, and hand quilt. Still works for me.

I used a q-snap frame/hoop when i quilted a queen quilt. It's light weight and disassembles, so shipping should be economical. Try googling it, you should be able to find it and they are cheap to buy as well. Here's the link http://www.qsnap.com. Looks like they are part of Yarn tree now, and the link is provided. I had a 17" frame for my lap only.

I also bought an inexpensive wooden hoop the largest I could find like maybe 18 inches and use that to hand quilt. works great and not costly. I broke one and had to replace it but it was only maybe 10 or 12 dollars and the first one lasted a long time.

I have both hoops
 

I have both hoops and hope this information will help you. The Thimblelady hoop worked well with small quilt projects but it isn't made as sturdy as the Barnett hoop and I had a difficult time quilting a large quilt unless the bulk of the quilt was up on a table which defeated the reason I wanted a lap hoop. The Barnett hoop is well made and I have had no problems with the weight of the quilt pulling on the frame.

My lap frame (cheap version)
 

I purchased a really nice frame at a thrift store then cut a base out of plywood and attached with 1x1 wood pieces with glue and screwed them into the bottom. This works perfect for me and was very inexpensive as I had the scrap wood on hand. Have used it a lot for the past 5 years and it is holding up well.

Have you checked out the Morgan lap stands, I love mine and use nothing else even though I have a large variety.

I have one by Dritz (I think). It is plastic with a wing nut to tighten.