Per Alex Anderson's advice, I purchased a baby quilt panel (so there were only border seams and lots of printed designs so no marking) to practice my hand quilting. It was easy to handle and I tried several techniques - hoop, no hoop, different hand positions, etc. My practice piece was much appreciated by its recepient and the practice certainly helped my skill. I found Ginny Beyer's hand piecing technique and Alex's book on hand quilting very helpful.

Kathy, the Warm & Natural is really too thick for hand quilting--ask me how I know! I've never used wool, but I've heard good things about it. I think you'll be successful with the thinner batting. I've had good results with the 80/20 Hobbs batting, too. Judy in Torrance

Hi! Kathy..May I reccomend Thimble Lady's method and tools
A hoop that is 'hands free" allows freedom of underneath hand and looseness of quilt to allow stitching is most important. Her plastic thimble holds the needle well and a longer needle makes stitching easier. After multiple hand surgeries I thought I'd not hand quilt again but her method has allowed me to continue!! Her
web site is informative as is TQS episode and old Simply Quilts episode. Keep at it..gets better with practice..Marilyn in Idaho

Everyone, after much sighing & dissatisfaction, I picked all the hand quilting out of the center of the 40 x 40 wall hanging! I was using: Warm & Natural cotton batting (probably too thick), Mettler silk finish thread, and I tried every size of good-quality needle you can imagine. I tried stab-stitch and rocking motions. I usually use a leather thimble, maybe one of the problems. I have tried a 14" hoop, too big, and no hoop, just seems like a lot of work handling the quilt even though I've basted it.

I have decided to try again. I'm going with a wool batt, size 9 needle, the Mettler thread again, and an 8 x 8 Q-Snap hoop that I've had for a while. I'm going with a practice piece before putting my "good" quilt top in & trying again. I'll let you know how it goes!

Kathy B.

Kathy - show number 203 features Suzanne Marshall who is a brilliant quilter who quilts without frames or hoops. I have struggled with hoops, have every thimble under the sun and find that I can work better without a frame or hoop. There is another quilter called Jeanna Kimball who also quilts without hoops - she has written a book which is very good - I forget the name but I am sure it will come up if you google her. I have just recently started to machine quilt, having sworn that I never would - I want to get some of my quilts finished as they were starting to mount up!

I highly recommend the book "The Perfect Stitch" for anyone wanting to learn how to improve their handquilting. I have a beautiful Hinterburg quilt stand with hoops in two sizes--a gift from my DH--that I tried unsuccessfully to use. Since taking a handquilting lesson from Suzanne Marshall, I no longer use the hoop. If you baste your quilt well, you can curl up comfortably in a cushy chair in front of the TV and lapquilt to your hearts content.

Bostonterrierquilter, what type of batting are you using? For hand quilting, it's best to use a thin polyester or 80/20 cotton/poly batting. These "needle" effortlessly and will help your stitches to become consistent in time. Also, someone mentioned how taut your fabric is in the hoop--a little "give" might help. Judy in Torrance

I do like her plastic thimble very much. I can use either my forefinger or my middle finger with ease. I really like that I don't have to curve my fingers around to stitch. The biggest thing is getting the motion of rocking to ease the stress on the hands. Her website has a great demo of how to do this. The video with the book are even better.

Teri

PS I've also found the thimble handy for hand piecing.

Those are great tips Teri! I'm wondering how you like your plastic Thimble Lady thimble? And did you have any trouble learning to quilt using it? I'm never happy with my hand quilting either,so I'm interested in all answers. Thanks. Julie

Couple of questions:
1) On the size of the hoop how many inches on each hoop? When I started hand quilting the gal at the first quilt shop I ever went to sold me a 14" hoop it's about the length of my forearm and has been perfect for me to quilt for a good length of time without too much pressure on my hands. It adds less stress to my upper arms (I'm not trying to wrestle the whole quilt in a bigger hoop) with less stress on my upper arms there's less stress on the muscles in my lower arm. I had a customer in the quilt shop a few weeks ago wanting to purchase a 20" hoop - I wouldn't let her do it and I explained to her why and she agreed using a smaller hoop was less stressful on her back etc.

2) How taut are you making the quilt in the hoop? When we first put the quilt in the hoop we want it to be fairly taut to get any potential bubbles or loose spots out, then loosen the quilt til it's fairly loose. The quilt needs to have some good movement so we can get a good rocking stitch going. If it's too taut it's going to be hard on our hands and then we can't quilt for any length of time.

3) Are you using decent needles (i.e Richard Hemmings, Roxanne - there are others but these are primarily what I use) This matters in such a huge way that I can not stress it enough, cheap needles are cheap and add to the stress on our hands. I found that when I used cheap needles they would bend & break and were more subject to moisture than the better quality needles. In this case you have to pay for the quality of the needle but it will pay for itself in the end!

4) what kind of thimble are you using? This matters big time!!!!!!! For me I either use my plastic Thimble Lady Thimble or my flat head thimble that has deep dimples on the flat part and a good solid ridge around it. Using a thimble that's meant for sewing is ok, but not the best for trying to get that needle through all of the layers.

5) how are you sitting? Good posture makes a world of difference.

6) have you tried a small frame (Ulmer, Grace Hoop Squared) - with a small frame you can sit in a good chair with good posture and have more surface area without having to reach too far.

Hope all of this helps!

Teri

The pain will subside as you get more used to the motions - its like any new physical exercise. If you have never run much and suddenly start running your legs will get sore and tired very quickly, well so will your fingers!!! Over time though it will get easier. It just takes practice practice practice. My advices is to do what you can, try to go a little longer at each sitting (just like training for a race) but don't over do it, and you might look at how much you are tensing up - the more relaxed you keep your hands the better. As for needles it depends on your technique you are using. I do it traditionally and use a 10 quilting between. And hoops - have you tried none at all or maybe a stand? Holding the hoop may be part of the problem. Good luck to you.

I love hand quilting. However, after years of handwork intensive jobs I just can't do it anymore. I miss it!

Hi, I am an infrequent hand quilter. I just started quilting a wallhanging by hand, and I am so frustrated! After only a half-hour or so, my hands are extremely tired & sore. I've tried with a big hoop, with a small hoop, with a size 8 needle, with a "between" needle size (impossibly short & small), flexing my hands frequently, taking five-minute breaks -- nothing seems to help, my hands just hurt after a few minutes of quilting! And it doesn't look very good, either! Help! Kathy B.

NJD1937, if you insert your needle into the quilt with the needle in a vertical position, not slanted, I think it will help your stitches on the back to be very similar to the ones on the top. I've always been told that the stitches on front and back should be even--I'm still striving for that!!! But hand quilting just takes alot of practice, so just enjoy it while practicing--your stitches will get more even over time. Judy in Torrance