pyffer3

I have a large (queen size) quilt that I have been hand quilting for a year or two and I can't find a comfortable way to quilt. I have tried piling it in my lap, but it is just too bulky to get comfortable, plus I am not a sit still for long kinda gal! I have a hoop frame on a stand and it doesn't stay steady because of all the quilt that is draping over the sides, plus I can't seem to get a rhythm with the fabric hanging in my way. Any suggestions or methods that have worked for you?
Thanks, Terina

joe'smom

I have to quilt at our dining room table (which we rarely use for dining), with a chair on each side of me. My hoop front rests on the edge of the table in front of me, and the excess quilt falls onto the two chairs. This way the table and chairs, rather than my hands and shoulders, take all the weight of the quilt. I tried to quilt on the couch with the hoop in my lap, but the weight caused problems for my shoulders.

Stitchnripper

My easiest way is to sit at a table. I rest most of the quilt on the table. I can only quilt toward myself so that limits me. It almost doesn't matter what chair I use - it encourages me to sit up straight. I don't quilt for hours on end. But I quilt for my own pleasure mostly and don't care how long it takes. Keep trying to find the best solution for you.

Tartan

I have quilted on a floor frame that you roll the quilt as you go but it takes up a lot of room and it took me at least a year. Who wants something set up that long? Not me so I picked up a Q snap floor frame. I do have to move the quilt a quarter at a time but I can sit at a chair and be comfortable. It doesn't take up as much room but it still takes me a looooong time so I do mostly machine quilting now.

Geri B

Somewhere, a while back, I did see what I call "slings"... To be used on oval or q frame hand quilting frames....actually, I know I bought a set! When I was going to hand quilt something on my q frame...don't ask where the pkg is now....and the thing got machine quilted! But I bet those are still available somewhere. They are strips of fabric with Velcro on ends that keep the excess quilt from dragging on floor by rolling the ends up into these things and then attached over bars of frame????? Might be of help to hand quilters....

117becca

I've been looking at quilt hoops on a frame and I noticed that many of them seem to have small bases and I wonder how that is going to support the weight of bed quilts. I would put some bricks or other type of weight on the bases to hold the hoop steady.

I do have a hoop that I travel w/ - it's a 29inch hoop and I would not use anything smaller. In a hotel, I will sit in the chair and hang the hoop off the back of the desk chair when i quilt. This hoop is old and i got it at an antique store. So, it's heavy duty and is wonderful. Not this lightweight stuff you see at Joann's.

For home, I have a 24x36 wooden frame that I bought at a quilt show almost 20 yrs ago and it is absolutely perfect. I've never seen anything like it online. The PVC ones at Joann's are similar, but I often wonder if they are sturdy enough.

P-BurgKay

I sit in my recliner and quilt. I use a 14 inch hoop. Turning the quilt, has never been a problem for me. It is usually queen to king size quilts that I quilt this way. If I stay at it every evening, I can quilt one in a couple of months. But that is quilting every evening.

sewNso

my hand quilting frame is home made, the same way, I remember my grandma's when I was a little girl. 4 C clamps, and 2 long 1 x 3 inch boards--8 ft long. the C clamps hold 2 side shorter 1 x 3's about 22 inches long. all the boards had batting and material stapled on them, so you can pin your quilt to them. i'll see if I can come up with a pic.
nope sorry, my computer has been having a personality all it' own, recently.

NJ Quilter

I, too, use a hoop in my lap. Sit in my comfy chair. I move around a lot! I have found with king quilts particularly that they do tend to be heavy and moving around that much fabric can be a pain. I've started to thread baste those vs pin basting and that makes a major difference in maneuvering the weight around.

Sleepy Hollow

At home I've only worked with baby quilts and am using a hoop lap stand for those. They don't have much weight to them, but we'll see how it works when I move to a queen sized quilt (although the maker-- Jean Brown (I think her husband makes them) says she's used one for all her quilts).

When I quilt with the group, we lay out the quilt on a couple tables. When we're done for the afternoon, we roll up the quilt and put it in a pillowcase and collapse the tables if we need to. There are also a couple quilting frames, but they do take up some room.

ETA: When I use my lapstand hoop, I use an "Aunt Becky" to quilt. When I do it with the group with the quilt on a table, I just do it "normal".