Needing a good hoop/frame for hand quilting while sitting in chair!
 

I am new to hand quilting! I inherited a bunch of quilts that were already started by hand so I plan on finishing them that way. I am wanting to hand quilt them while sitting in my recliner watching tv. I currently have a large oval wood frame and it is not working for me at all. I am wanting something more comfortable. I am doing larger quilts (full/queen). What are you using and what do you recommend?

Can you explain what isn't working for you?

When I tried to quilt on the couch with the quilt in my lap (I use a 12" circular wooden hoop), the weight of the quilt caused problems for my wrists and shoulders. Now I quilt at the dining room table, resting the front of my hoop on the table in front of me, and letting the excess quilt spill over onto the table and onto chairs on either side. This frees me from dealing with the weight of the quilt (I also do my bindings at the table). Unfortunately, it does eliminate the possibility of watching TV while I quilt, but audiobooks are a good substitute.

I also tried a large oval hoop, and that didn't work for me either. You have to be able to reach easily to the middle of the hoop with both hands.

I picked mine up at the quilt store. It's round and maybe 18"? The oval one was too uncomfortable. I must turn my quilt a bunch when quilting. JoAnns carries them cheaper.

I prefer to quilt without a hoop. You might give it a try.

I have found this is easier for me, too. I quilted a full-sized quilt last year without a hoop and it was so much easier on my hands

No matter how you do it, you may want to use the quilt clips to help take the weight from dragging. ihave tried with and without hoop and it just depended on how my hands felt.

The hoop I like is no longer made. However, a similar lap hoop is made by the Grace company:
http://www.graceframe.com/site/hoops/laphoops
These types of lap hoops sit on your lap and can be tilted to any convenient angle so both hands can be used while quilting. No juggling skills needed!

A floor hoop might also work for you, although they are more bulky:
http://www.graceframe.com/site/hoops/hoop2

Edit: I tried quilting without a hoop, but found that my stitches are a lot more even both top and underneath if I use a hoop. One mistake beginners make with hoops is stretching the sandwich too tightly. When I hoop a project, I allow about a fist's worth of "give" in the quilt sandwich. That is, I allow the middle to be moved up or down about 4" either way. This allows you to manipulate the quilt sandwich onto the needle rather than trying to simply manipulate the needle. Makes hand quilting much easier.

I agree with what Prism said. That is what I do, using a hoop that is about 14-16" wide, something like that. No problem and quilting looks fine. Good luck!

So glad you asked this question. I've done very little hand quilting to date, but plan to hand quilt a crib quilt for my nephew when he's born in February & have been wondering about that Thimble Lady quilt stand that has a post that goes between & then under your legs so you don't have to hold it at all. I've been thinking about ordering one so I'm definitely interested in all the feedback from other QB'ers to your question.

When I was learning to hand quilt I couldn't manage holding a hoop and quilting at the same time. I don't know how anyone does that. So for my birthday hubby bought me an awesome hoop I highly recommend. It's a Hinterberg, sits above your lap, tips in any direction, has a flat base you can "sit" on if you like (one thigh on each side), worth every penny.