I think I found a place to measure my hand on Leah Day's 365 Days of Free Motion Quilting. (Am I a bad person for using her site and then getting the gloves someplace else? I did donate to her site, so I guess I'm okay.)

Actually, here is the link:

http://www.daystyledesigns.com/machingers.htm

Please give hand quilting a chance and don't give up too soon. It is such good therapy for me. Use a large quilting hoop on a smaller project and give it a try. It takes a while to learn how to manipulate your needle and use a thimble, but is so worth it. I love the old-fashioned hand quilted look. If you need more suggestions, contact me. I think this is a skill worth preserving!

Please give hand quilting a chance and don't give up too soon. It is such good therapy for me. Use a large quilting hoop on a smaller project and give it a try. It takes a while to learn how to manipulate your needle and use a thimble, but is so worth it. I love the old-fashioned hand quilted look. If you need more suggestions, contact me. I think this is a skill worth preserving!

Sharon Schamber Network has videos on domestic machine quilting, long arm quilting, and hand quilting. I have a Tin Lizzie 18 and love it, but I still want to do some quilting on my domestic Juki, and am working on a handpieced and handquilted table runner. What I learn using one method seems to help me with the other methods, too.

Christina, at A few Scraps, is hosting a quilt-along that might be right up your alley. Not a sew-along, but precisely to quilt. And she does it with no fancy machine. So this might be helpful:
http://afewscraps.blogspot.com/

Angie

Ricky Tims has an excellent dvd out on that. He doesn't roll his quilts up. He keeps them loose around the machine but he has a massive surface and that makes all the difference in the world.

The other thing is...go ahead and make a sandwich of fabric, batting and backing...put the quilting foot on etc....start on your sandwich...practice your name or just doodles etc....the trick is, listen to your motor, it needs to have a rythm and a certain humm...you will recognise it when it happens. ...it happems when you are keeping an even pressure on the foot. ....

This is a great site. Leah shows you how to quilt all these different designs. I got the sliding board, but my feed dogs don't drop, so it was eating it. I don't like sending my quilts out either, I would prefer to do them myself. But it does depend on what it is and for whom.

You could try to get the book put out by Marti Mitchell "Quilting in Sections" I have used this before and it shows you how to it in sections then put it toghether afterwards.Hope it helps you out.

To Donnajean
For shapes, like leaves, to quilt, instead of pinning paper templates, cut them out of shelf paper and peel off back paper, then templates will stick to quilt. They can be used numerous times before all the stickiness is off.

What a neat idea!!! Thanks. I am thinking to do a shamrock shape on the quilt that is next on the list of ready to quilt. I figured I would likely end up with lots of strange looking shamrocks. LOL

Patti