Papillon, part 4

The current issue of Fabric Trends has the pattern for Papillon, a quilt designed by my good friends at the The Quilt Basket. I quilted their sample and thought I would show you how.

Last week, I showed how I quilted the background of the star blocks. This week, I will show how I quilted the center butterfly square.

I pulled out my Quilter's Preview Paper to see what design might look nice.

Maybe a star over the block?

No! Maybe some continuous curve over the block?

No! Maybe some cross-hatching over the block?

No! Maybe some swirls over the block?

No! Maybe swirls behind the butterfly?

Yes! The Preview Paper saved me from a lot of un-stitching. That stuff is worth it's weight in gold!

Let's quilt:

And a view of the finished block:

Sources from the video:

• I quilt on a HQ 24 Fusion
• I used Tutti thread TU 37 (shell) and a size 16 needle for the swirls
• The kit for this quilt is available from the Quilt Basket
  

Next week, I will show how to quilt the white border triangles. Be sure to come back and check it out!

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 6.4

Welcome to week 6 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.
Week 4: We practiced some straight line quilting patterns.

Week 5: We practiced some C curve quilting patterns.

This week, all of the free-motion quilting patterns are based on a loop.

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:
For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU19 Lavender.
For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB314 Lilac.

The video:
Today's free-motion quilting pattern is pebbles!

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:



The finished pattern:

The hints:

• To keep my loops round, I stitch over one and under the next.
• To get from one place to another, I retrace the pebbles.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner or where two patterns overlap. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Stop back next week for more free-motion quilting designs!

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 6.3

Welcome to week 6 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.
Week 4: We practiced some straight line quilting patterns.

Week 5: We practiced some C curve quilting patterns.

This week, all of the free-motion quilting patterns are based on a loop.

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:
For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU19 Lavender.
For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB314 Lilac.

The video:
Today's free-motion quilting pattern is a loopy border pattern that would also make a great block pattern.

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:



The finished pattern:

The hints:

• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Stop back tomorrow for another loop design!

Vermont Quilt Festival

I'm on my way to the Vermont Quilt Festival. I'll be teaching seven classes on longarm and machine quilting, so my car is very, very full!!!

I'd love to see you there!

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 6.2

Welcome to week 6 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.
Week 4: We practiced some straight line quilting patterns.

Week 5: We practiced some C curve quilting patterns.

This week, all of the free-motion quilting patterns are based on a loop.

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:
For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU19 Lavender.
For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB314 Lilac.

The video:
Today we are doubling tripling our free-motion quilting fun with triple wandering loops!

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:

Could you hear my cat in the background? His name is Spike. I was quilting outside (it was too hot in my house!) and he was complaining about being left inside from the screen door.

The finished pattern:

The hints:

• To keep my loops round, I stitch over one and under the next.
• I start the second and third loops where the first one crosses.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner or where two patterns overlap. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Stop back tomorrow for another loop design!

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 6.1

Welcome to week 6 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.
Week 4: We practiced some straight line quilting patterns.

Week 5: We practiced some C curve quilting patterns.

This week, all of the free-motion quilting patterns are based on a loop.

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:
For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU19 Lavender.
For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB314 Lilac.

In person, these threads are luscious and purple, but they look nearly white in the photos.

The video:
Today's free-motion quilting pattern is a simple wandering loop.

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:



The finished pattern:

The hints:

• To keep my loops round, I stitch over one and under the next.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner or where two patterns overlap. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Stop back tomorrow for another loop design!

Papillon, part 3

Since I know that you have the latest copy of Fabric Trends and that you are making the Papillon quilt (scroll down) designed by my good friends at the The Quilt Basket, I will show you how I quilted the sample.

Last week, I showed how I quilted the outline of the star blocks. This week, I will show how I quilted the background of the star blocks.

I pulled out my Quilter's Preview Paper to see what design might look nice.

Let's try some arcs:

I like it!

Let's quilt:



Sources from the video:

• I quilt on a HQ 24 Fusion
• I used HQ Half-Circle Templates for the arcs
• I used Tutti thread TU 37 (shell) and a size 16 needle for the arcs

Next week, I will show how to quilt the center butterfly block. Be sure to come back and check it out!

Stop, Drop and Roll, part 5.4

Welcome to week 5 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.
Week 4: We practiced some straight line quilting patterns.

This week, all of the free-motion quilting patterns are based on a single curve, like the letter "C".

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:
For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU10 Roses.
For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB209 Raspberry.

The video:
Like yesterday, today's free-motion quilting pattern could be considered a holiday pattern. I quilt holly in borders, blocks, and as an all-over design on many Christmas quilts.

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:



The finished pattern:

The hints:

• I usually pause in the corners to allow the machine to take an extra stitch. This makes my corners nice and sharp.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Next week's designs will all be based on loops!

Stop, Drop and Roll, part 5.3

Welcome to week 5 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.
Week 4: We practiced some straight line quilting patterns.

This week, all of the free-motion quilting patterns are based on a single curve, like the letter "C".

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:

For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU10 Roses.

For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB209 Raspberry.

The video:

Today's pattern can be considered a Halloween pattern, but I quilt spider webs on other types of quilts, too!

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:

The finished pattern:

The hints:

• I usually pause in the corners to allow the machine to take an extra stitch. This makes my corners nice and sharp.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Visit again tomorrow for another single-curve free-motion quilting design.

Stop, Drop and Roll, part 5.2

Welcome to week 5 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.
Week 4: We practiced some straight line quilting patterns.

This week, all of the free-motion quilting patterns are based on a single curve, like the letter "C".

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:
For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU10 Roses.
For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB209 Raspberry.

The video:
I love today's pattern! It looks like a fern and I use it as an overall design, a block design, a border design, or anywhere else I want to see a fern.

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:




The finished pattern:




The hints:

• When stitching the fern, keep the bottoms spaced a good distance apart on the stem. If the fern is very narrow, it will "fall over."


• I usually pause in the corners to allow the machine to take an extra stitch. This makes my corners nice and sharp.


• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.


• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.


• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Visit again tomorrow for another single-curve free-motion quilting design.

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 5.1

Welcome to week 5 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.
Week 4: We practiced some straight line quilting patterns.

This week, all of the free-motion quilting patterns are based on a single curve, like the letter "C".

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:

For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU10 Roses.

For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB209 Raspberry.

The video:

Today's pattern is a simple flower. I have used this as an overall design and also as a block design. It is simple and it looks great. I love that combination!

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:

The finished pattern:

The hints:

• I usually pause in the corners to allow the machine to take an extra stitch. This makes my corners nice and sharp.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Visit again tomorrow for another single-curve free-motion quilting design.

Papillon, part 2

If you have the latest copy of Fabric Trends, you, of course, want to make the Papillon quilt (scroll down) designed by my good friends at the The Quilt Basket!

Last week, I showed how I quilted the stitch-in-the-ditch. This week, we are quilting in the outline of the star blocks.

I pulled out my Quilter's Preview Paper to see what design might look nice.

Let's try some ribbon candy:

I like it!

Let's quilt:



Sources from the video:

• I quilt on a HQ 24 Fusion
• I used Tutti thread TU 27and a size 16 needle for the ribbon candy

I love it!

Next week, I will show how to quilt the background. Be sure to come back and check it out!

Stop, Drop and Roll, part 4.5

Welcome to step 4.5 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.

Finally, we quilt! All of the quilt patterns this week are practicing this week are based on straight lines.

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:

For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU01 Sunny.

For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB131 Dark Gold.

The video:

Today's pattern is similar to the first pattern we quilted this week. Instead of quilting horizontal and diagonal lines, I quilted lines in all directions.

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:

The hints:

• When I chalk a grid, I use a template and Quilter's Pounce powder. It goes on fast, and the powder irons off when the quilting is done.
• When I retrace a line, I do not worry if I do not retrace it perfectly. I think a little daylight showing between lines adds some character to the design.
• I usually pause in the corners to allow the machine to take an extra stitch. This makes my corners nice and sharp.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 4.4

Welcome to step 4.4 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.
Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.
Week 3: We basted our quilts.

Finally, we quilt! All of the quilt patterns this week are practicing this week are based on straight lines.

The machine:
I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:

For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU01 Sunny.

For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB131 Dark Gold.

The video:

Today's pattern is a little different. I chalked a grid over the quilting area so it would be easier to keep my free-motion quilting evenly spaced. I consider a chalked grid a "quilter's little helper" and often use this little trick.

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:

The hints:

• When I chalk a grid, I use a template and Quilter's Pounce powder. It goes on fast, and the powder irons off when the quilting is done.
• When I retrace a line, I do not worry if I do not retrace it perfectly. I think a little daylight showing between lines adds some character to the design.
• I usually pause in the corners to allow the machine to take an extra stitch. This makes my corners nice and sharp.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Check back tomorrow for another straight-line design.

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 4.3

Welcome to step 4.3 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.

Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.

Week 3: We basted our quilts.

Finally, we quilt!

All of the quilt patterns this week are practicing this week are based on straight lines. I learned how to quilt on my home machine after I was a longarm quilting teacher. Weird, right? When I first tried to quilt, I felt like I was fighting the fabric. I could not get my stitches even. None of the designs I was so good at on my longarm machine would show up on the fabric! I started to train myself to work with the fabric. I started with straight lines. I told myself that maybe I could not make beautiful feathers, but that I could probably make a series of line segments.

The machine:

I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:

For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU01 Sunny.

For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB131 Dark Gold.

The video:

Today's pattern uses horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines. It makes a great overall design and I actually used just one line of this design as a border on a quilt for a customer on Monday.

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:

The hints:

• When I retrace a line, I do not worry if I do not retrace it perfectly. I think a little daylight showing between lines adds some character to the design.
• I usually pause in the corners to allow the machine to take an extra stitch. This makes my corners nice and sharp.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though my first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Check back tomorrow for another straight-line design.

Papillon, part 1

Have you seen the latest copy of Fabric Trends.? You should go buy it right away!

And then you should go make the Papillon quilt (scroll down). My good friends at the The Quilt Basket designed another fantastic quilt!

I am going to help you out with making this quilt. I quilted the sample in the magazine and filmed while I was quilting it. Each week during the summer, I will post another video clip showing how I quilted this quilt. Sound good?

You have two jobs this week:

1. Watch the video (below)

2. Buy the latest issue of Fabric Trends!

Sources from the video:

• I quilt on a HQ 24 Fusion
• I used InvisiFil thread and a size 14 needle for all of the stitch in the ditch
• The tool I used is called a Versa Tool

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 4.2 (straight lines)

Welcome to step 4.2 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.

Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.

Week 3: We basted our quilts.

Finally, we quilt!

All of the quilt patterns this week are practicing this week are based on straight lines. Free-motion straight lines. If that scares you, think of them as straight-ish lines, or lines that are "mostly" straight (for the Princess Bride fans).

The machine:

I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I bought it at my favorite quilt store, The Quilt Basket. I have owned this machine for about 2-1/2 years, and the honeymoon is not over. This is a fantastic machine for piecing and also does a superb job of quilting as you will soon see. I used the darning foot on the machine and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:

For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU01 Sunny.

For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB131 Dark Gold.

The video:

Today's pattern is all horizontal and vertical lines. I think this looks like the pipes and pathways that the Mario Brothers are always running through in those Nintendo games. (Yes, I am married to a gamer.)

Grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and practice this design:

The hints:

• I usually pause in the corners to allow the machine to take an extra stitch. This makes my corners nice and sharp.
• When I need to stop the machine, I stop in a corner. If I stop in the middle of a design, the stop/start will leave a visible jog.
• Even though the first machine quilting teacher told me to "quilt fast and don't stop," I quilt rather slowly. I set my machine to the speed I want to quilt, and then put my pedal to the floor. This helps keep my stitches a consistent length.
• I stop frequently while quilting. This keeps me from getting a sore neck, allows me to reposition my hands, and gives me time to figure out where to place the next design.

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 4.1

Welcome to step 4 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.

Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.

Week 3: We basted our quilts.

This week, we are going to quilt! Are you excited? I certainly am!!!

I live in the woods and lighting in my house is always a problem. I decided to move my sewing table outside to gain as much natural daylight as possible. Along with natural daylight, however, come noises such as birds, airplanes, and lawnmowers. I felt the the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, so enjoy the quilting videos -- and the sounds of my yard.

The machine:

I used my Janome 6600 for this video. I bought it at my favorite quilt store, The Quilt Basket. I have owned this machine for about 2-1/2 years, and the honeymoon is not over. This is a fantastic machine for piecing, and does a superb job of quilting as you will soon see. I used the darning foot on the machine, and I dropped my feed dogs.

The thread:

For the top thread, I used Tutti from WonderFil, color TU01 Sunny.

For the bobbin thread, I used DecoBob. by WonderFil, color DB131 Dark Gold.

Yes, I use different thread on the top and in the bobbin. No, the quilt police have not arrested me yet.

The pre-quilting video:

To check my tension, I quilted some circles and some points. If my stitches looked bad, I would have adjusted the machine until I was happy with the look of my stitches.

I am going to post each video in a separate blog post, so keep checking back.

Sunday Stash Report -- on a Thursday

I hope to get back to my regular posting schedule one day, but I fear it will not be soon.


My Sunday Stash Report:

fabric purchased this week: 0
fabric purchased this year: 36 yards
fabric used this week: 7.5 yards
fabric used this year: 189.25 yards

Stash reduced by: 153.25 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along, part 3

Welcome to step 3 of the Stop, Drop and Roll Quilt Along! I am hosting this for the Old Red Barn Co. Flickr group.

Week 1: We made our blocks.

Week 2: We assembled our quilt tops.

This week we are going to baste. There are many good ways to baste a quilt. If you baste a quilt differently than I do and it works for you, THERE IS NO GOOD REASON TO CHANGE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!! However, if you have never seen how to spray baste a quilt, I took photos while I basted my Stop, Drop and Roll. Follow along:

First, I find no reason to bend and crawl on the floor to baste a quilt. I borrowed a kitchen table (my table is too small!) and laid out my backing. I pieced the backing from a bunch of bright squares leftover from other projects.

Using the ever-popular blue painter's tape, I taped the edge and sides of the backing to the kitchen table. I let the leftover fabric hang off the edge.



I laid my batting over the backing and smoothed it in place.



Then I rolled it to the edge of the table and grabbed my basting spray.



After I lightly sprayed the backing fabric, I rolled the batting back on, smoothing as I went to make sure the batting had no bumps in it.

Next I centered the quilt top over the batting.




I rolled it back to the center and once again grabbed my basting spray.



I lightly sprayed the part of the batting that would be covered with the quilt top. If I had sprayed all of the batting, the extra batting would stay sticky, and that is not good! Next, I rolled the quilt top in place, smoothing as I went.

I then removed the tape and reversed the quilt. I taped the other half of the backing to the table. Then I rolled the quilt top back to the center and next rolled the batting to the center. It was then time to grab the basting spray again.



I lightly sprayed the backing of the quilt and rolled the batting to cover, making sure the batting was smooth and had no bumps in it.

Next I prepared to baste the last half of the quilt top in place.



I sprayed the part of the batting that would be covered with the quilt top and then rolled the quilt top in place.

I removed the tape and inspected my basting job from the front.



There were no bumps or pleats of fabric. Had there been any, I would have been able to gently peel the fabric back and re-stick it in place.

Next I turned the quilt over to inspect it for pleats or bumps. There were a few tiny ones, and I simply rubbed my hand over them and smoothed out the backing.

Now that the basting is complete, I can roll the quilt up and prepare for quilting!



It actually took longer to write this blog post than it did to baste the quilt top.

Good luck!

Next week we get to start quilting!!!! Yay!!!

Friday finish -- Bags!

For Gina's birthday:

For Karen's birthday:



For Diahne's Florida vacation:



For Alexis's honeymoon:



For Sasha's birthday:



I forgot to photograph Valerie's bag and Jacqueline's bag. And many other bags, too! Oops!