One thing I have to ask, what batting are you using? A lot of folks think "Warm & Natural" but that one is very difficult to hand quilt. For your next project, I suggest using Thermore or soft n' white, a poly batting. Wool and silk battings are wonderful to hand quilt through, but they are more expensive.

There are many ways of hand quilting! I have watched quilting teachers, professional quilters, and friends, and they have many different ways of working. They use different needles, different fingers, and different positions. Books teach different methods too. And so many variables; fabric on front, fabric on back, different battings, with a hoop, without a hoop, how to hold a hoop, different frames, needles, thimbles, on and on...
I've taken classes with at least half a dozen well-known teachers, and must have read every book on hand quilting. Some of them, I just can't do it their way or with their tools.
Trying to remember what helped me when I was learning - practicing without batting, imitating others, and trying different tools and techniques. One day, something clicked and I found what was best for me. Remind yourself to relax, and practice on small projects.
BlueBars

I'm using Quilter's Dream Wool, partly because I think wool is fire retardant. My hands probably have a bit of spasticity from spinal cord damage (I'm disabled, duh, I don't know why I thought I could hand quilt when I got started on piecing because I couldn't crochet anymore!)

Never-the-less, I have ordered Jinny Beyer's book on hand quilting, and that quilting spoon is ordered, too. Another book from Amazon called 'Flawless Hand Quilting' and one called 'Improving your hand quilting stitch'.

I dug further into my Google search and found a truly helpful Stitching Cow blog. Goodness! It's worth the trip just to find that name! It has a link inside to the Thimble Lady's web site and free video's.

It's the best thing I've found online in over a year, so I'm giving the link below.

I've got quilting women from both sides of my family--everybody did it all the way back to my ancestor/house maid for Betsy Ross. Since my grandmother and great aunts worked at 'the Derby' (?) factory stitching up men's underwear, machine work was never an option for creative, relaxing home sewing, aside from the fact they were too poor to own a machine. Ye Gods, my mother sewed my prom dress on Great Aunt Valley's treadle machine.

If I ever tied a quilt, I think I be banned from family reunions. I'd have to go somewhere else for Christmas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sitching Cow -Quilt without pain

What an interesting thread. I can really only stitch well working toward myself, and that's why I use a hoop and don't put up the frame. I can't navigate wearing a thimble, either. And have been told that I have my ironing board turned backwards. When I had my first real job (carrying mail) I remember one of the supervisors asking who the 'lefty' was and getting really frustrated because nobody would admit it. Seems the mail was all cased (sorted into a pigeonholed case) backward and he assumed a lefty had done it. Well, it was me and that's how my brain/body evidently is hardwired to do it. I dunno if I was a lefty who was forced to work right, am ambi, or what, but have left/right handedness confusion, evidently.

I think you're doing spectacular. I love to handquilt but I have NEVER mastered quilting away from me, so you have me and a lot of us beat! I can only quilt toward me with a hoop that I can rotate so that the line is always facing me. So you see you're doing much better than you think.

When I first tried handquilting I thought I hated it and it looked awful,but I kept at it. Now I love it and finally realized there are no quilt police over my shoulder (or your's). I, too, bought every book in sight and all of it was pretty much a waste cuz you do end up finding your own way.....

Jackie

Patsy--a couple of thoughts for you:
1) There's no one right way to quilt. The right way is what works for you. As you get more comfortable, try using your thumb to work sideways as well. Most quilters are two-direction quilters (forward or back and left or right) and have to rotate the project to quilt in the other directions. I do think that you should try to work from the top rather than the bottom, though--I have to think that it's adding to your stress not to be able to see what your needle is doing.

2) If you are using a hoop, how much tension do you have on the quilt? I use a hoop but the quilt sits pretty loosely in it. The best description I've read is that it should look like a cat's been sleeping on it. The link you provided shows this very well.

3) Straight line quilting especially along the grain of the fabic is very difficult to do. Quilting along the bias is much easier as the fabric can give a little under the needle. Straight line quilt in general is challenging because our eye sees every little deviation from the straight, which just adds to the stress level.

4) You are just starting out, so work in short stretches. As soon as you feel yourself tightening up, STOP--don't wait until you can't breathe! Take a break, drink a cup of tea, do a load of laundry, but walk away for at least 10 minutes to give yourself time to relax again.

5) Have you considered "utility" or "big stitch" quilting? It's done with fine crochet cotton and you take larger stitches. Given your physical limitations, it might be a good compromise for you. It's really just a 1/4" long running stitch and it's actually quite a nice look on a quilt. I have a girlfriend who finishes most of her quilts this way.

Annie

Thank you soooo much for your responses! I feel much better now.

This quilt is loosely framed in a Q-snap type of frame. Cats actually do sleep on it, on top of it's cover sheet. My fine quilting attempts do little better than four stitches an inch! I average five.

I agree I must keep my needle above. I have to be able to line up my needle with the seam to keep my stitches remotely straight.

Calliope, I write left handed, and eat left handed. But I always did cross stitch with the needle in my right hand, and I use scissors with my right hand. When I was in the shot giving business I gave injections with my right hand.

I read one teacher saying to hold the quilting needle in your non-dominant hand. I'm not sure which hand is really my non-dominant. I've tried both, and neither one seems happy with the role!

I do like the idea of practicing without batting. I have another baby quilt top that's just squares I can do that with, and I can put it into a diagonal grid all over.

I'm laughing at myself now. I will just soldier on, and wait for practice and experience to take hold.

Patsy--If you write left-handed, then I'd recommend quilting with your left hand. I can cross-stitch with either hand and in fact used to use the right hand to send the needle down and the left to send it back up, but I quilt with my left hand. Oddly enough, I crochet right handed--go figure.

Annie

Patsy, the best info given is "find what works for you". We truly do all do it differently, even if we learned one method originally, like everything else, we put our own spin on it.

My only suggestions in addition are:

1) When you keep the needle on top and try to learn the rocking stitch, make sure that needle goes STRAIGHT down (perpendicular to the quilt) and comes back up as straight as you can keep it AS SOON AS IT pricks your underneath finger.

2) Don't load too many stitches on the needle.... 3 or 4 is plenty to start with

3) If you are quilting 1/4" away from the seams or just to outline something, try using 1/4" masking tape. I use it for all my straight stitching along a seam... quilt shops sell it but so do some hardward stores. It is so easy to keep a straight line against it.

4) Also, be sure you are only going through 3 layers... top, bottom and batting ( I usually use Hobbs 80/20 and it needles very easily)... for example, if you piece with a slightly wide 1/4 in seam then try to hand quilt the top an exact 1/4 in from the seam you may be going through 2 extra layers of fabric by catching the seam allowance. Does that make sense? Piece with a scant 1/4 in. seam allowance and then quilt with a normal 1/4 in.from the seam and you'll be OK.

Keep plugging... it really is a matter of practice, practice, practice... and Bag Balm is a wonderful product for the fingers (underneath fingers) of a new hand quilter... used at the end of the day NOT while you're quilting :-)))))))

I am left handed also and use my right sometimes. I quilt with my left. Have you ever considered the up and down techique of quilting? I know that many of the people who do very fine quilting use it and if you use both hands well that might work for you. I am sure it must be mentioned in one of the books you have. You just go directly down and the directly up a stitch length away, ect.. My daughter uses it and she also does beautiful cross stitch which is the reason that I think she likes it.
Just a thought. Jayne

What a great post this has been. I have hand quilted for about 8 years...never bought a book just learned from the other ladies. I get RA flare ups in my wrists and hands so I use a spoon to keep the strain off my fingers and a rubber glove finger on my right index finger because I can't pull the needle through and I can still quilt and quilting helps to keep my hands healthy.

There are so many good tips and suggestions here. I especially like the one of practicing without batting. We have a new quilter and this will probably help her.

One thing I didn't see mentioned was pressing the seams. If you have your seams so they intersect and press them nice and flat, quilting goes much easier and you don't have hard lumps where the seams meet.

Patsy, I think you are doing great and you can see many of us are still practicing to improve our stitches so don't get discouraged as I am sure your work is lovely and we are our own worst critic.
Jean

I love the "Flawless Hand Quilting" book you bought. It's the one I recomemnd to beginning hand quilters, as it helped me the most. I agree with the above - do what feels natural to you, and don't worry about it not being "right."
Anjea

I have loved reading this post as i am a hand quilter - always have been - would get all mixed up with a machine - in fact most of the time i do all my patchwork by hand. If i want something done qickly then i will use the machine, but am much happier using my hands - that way i can sit down and relax while working. I find that if you use quarter inch masking tape for straight lines this ensures that you dont wobble!!! Thanks again for all the information in this post.
Ann

Annabelle I cut my own 1/4 inch masking tape using my old rotary cutter and mat. Paula

What a good idea - must try that - it is so good to have so many people to talk to and share ideas, this forum is just like a big happy family - i am a fairly new member but just love it. Happy Christmas to everyone and i look forward to a fun 2009. Ann