Howdy!

Wow! What a fun subject to find on this group, first thing in the morning:
handquilting! ;-D

Tools: I love the 12" hoops, thick ones w/ a good, sturdy screw to tighten
the hoop; no floor stand, no floor frame any more.
A variety of needles helps, as does checking out a few thimbles to see
what's comfortable. Good thread made for handquilting, like the
Gutermann & the good ol' Coats & Clark brands, are faves for hand quilting
as well as hand piecing. I like the scissor straps that hang around the
neck to keep a small pair of (embroidery) scissors close at hand,
like these stork scissors which are sharp and have a nice feel to them,
and a basket to keep everything beside me (also holds a few chocolates
&/or mints &/or chewing gum). I keep several packages of finger cots
in the notions drawers (pyramid cabinet by the front door g), a special
treat for grasping & pulling those needles thru' the layers; cheap item,
must have it in my sewing bags.
And that's it, the only handquilting equipment I *need*.

My best tools stay in a small cosmetic bag (snaps or zips shut) in the
open sewing basket; a second set is packed in another bag, ready to go
when I do, containing my not-so-favorite thimbles and 2nd or 3rd best
small scissors, thread, extra needles & finger cots, marking pen, spare
change, a couple of buttons, address labels & tiny note pad.
For airplane rides I have a small pill bottle stuffed
w/ needles and finger cots, wrapped in masking tape (makes a great guide
for marking straight lines &/or seam allowances), also holds safety pins
removed from the basted quilt; this goes into a ziplock-type bag
w/ thread & a plastic letter opener that has a tiny sharp metal edge in it
for cutting thread, along w/ a pen & a tiny note pad; this all packs into a
larger ziplock bag containing the small take-along quilting project.

Newest favorite thimble: open-ended Clover metal
http://www.shopatron.com/product/pro...=CLV6017/181.0
(I didn't pay that much!); my fingers aren't tapered to a point as
so many thimbles are. A variety of thimbles is a good thing. g

If a nimble thimble works for you, Hanne, go with it. This should
be fun and comfortable; handquilting is addictive. ;-)
http://tinyurl.com/jxm2k

Cheers and good luck!

Ragmop/Sandy-- http://tinyurl.com/ly7ld


On 10/11/06 5:33 AM, in article egiha3$2kn$1@qmul, "Hanne Gottliebsen"
wrote:

So, having tried my hand at handpiecing (going quite well, if I say so
myself), I'm now thinking more seriously about learning handquilting too.

Where I live there aren't many classes etc, but so far I've learnt from
books, web, you guys etc more than from classes.

Regardless, I need to get some stuff, right? For space and financial
reasons, a hoop seems like a good place to start for me, and I've found
some that look nice that I can easily get when visiting my parents in a
months time. I was thinking to just get the hoop, this guy also does
floor stands and gizmos that attaches the hoop to the table. If needed I
could get one of those later?

But do I need some sort of stand to even get started? And if not, then
how do you balance everything (hoop and using both hands for quilting).

And what about a thimble? I use a nimble thimble for hand stitching, but
I gather that is not suitable for quilting (no little holes for the
needle to sit in).


Hanne in London
PS. The handpieced 9-patches have generally straight seams, but the eye
balling of 1/4" is still work in progress. But as someone kindly said
last week, it is easier to fudge than when machine piecing :-)