My kind of basting

I think the older I get, I'm getting smarter for using tools to make quilting easier.  That is the beauty of ageing.

Anyway, in the past, my knees and back used to suffer sandwiching quilts on the floor.  It worked.  There were no puckers on the back of my quilts.  But, boy did it hurt.

Eventually, I did end up putting two folding tables together and using lots of masking tape (same as I did for the floor), but puckers were always there, no matter how much I tried to keep the backing taut.

Enter Styrofoam boards and flower pins.

This quilt is the last one that I did using this method.  Binding has yet to be cut and sewn on, so no full photo of this quilt just yet.

Below photo shows two full sheets (24" x 96") of Styrofoam taped together.  My dining room table is the perfect spot for this job.  See those arrows?  Lots of flower pins at the side and the front.  I just had to be careful not to put the flower pins too deep and scratch the table.

Then, the right side of the backing was stretched slightly and pinned in place.  Lots of flower pins about every 2".  No pins were placed on the side that is closest to the quilt you see hanging on the wall.  The batting and top were placed on top and then I could start to pin baste.  

The flower pins stay pinned into the Styrofoam.  The process of pin basting (using quilting safety pins) can start.

Once I moved the whole section forward towards me, I don't bother placing any flower pins where you see the arrow.  Gravity does a wonderful job.  Flower pins are placed on the backing (just the backing), starting on the left side and then stretching the backing slightly and more flower pins are placed on the right hand side. 

At the end of machine quilting .... no puckers on the back.  Wonderful.

The down side to this?  Miss Ashes can't help me anymore.  She is not allowed on the dining room table.  Lordy, but she sure does protest this new method!  LOL

Next time I sandwich another top, I will use strips of wood on my top just to make the smoothing easier each time the section is moved forward.

Like I said, I'm getting smarter.

Have a great day!

A bit of help ...

.... goes a long way.

This little girl was helping me by keeping the backing taut while I was taping the outer edges to the floor.  Such good help is so hard to find these days!  LOL

My quilt top has been all marked up.  I use Crayola Washable Markers (the fine tip) and they do wash out.  Sorry, this is all that you will be seeing of this top for now.  This is another secret that I've been working on.  I don't like secret quilts as nothing can be shown until the time is right.  Oh well, you will see it later this year.   The time has come to get it quilted up.  I will be doing both machine and hand quilting for this quilt.

Someone has been peeking while I've been hand quilting.  Miss Ashes, remember you have to keep this a secret!  She has a spot to snooze on top of my stash bins.  She just peeks out every now and then to see what is going on.

More wildlife has been spotted on our hill.  These two young deer were taking a snooze and spent most of the afternoon in this spot.

Well, back to more hand quilting.

Have a great day!

Long awaited sandwich

It has been about 2 yrs. since the last time a large quilt top got basted.  After assembling all my items needed and checking on Ashes (she was fast asleep) ....

 .... I got busy pin basting this top until Miss Ashes had to come see what was going on. 

It feels so good to have a quilt ready for machine quilting.  There are a few more tops that will get sandwiched for machine or hand quilting.  It is time.  With 23 tops waiting in queue, the time has come to tackle them.

Have a great day! 

I've been busy ....

... finishing off this top and getting it ready for machine quilting. This quilt is intended for the cottage so no hand quilting for this one. A few more hexagons have been made for this project.

We've also been busy packing and sorting. Oh yes, these girls are coming with us ... for sure! They are definitely sticking close to us as we tape up boxes ready for packing. Both of them have been through moves before with their previous owners and they looked worried about this move, too. They have been getting extra loving to help calm them down.

Have a great day!

Been busy ....

.... well .... almost. I had just finished pinning one section of this top and had flipped up the other section to smooth out the backing and batting that were hanging down on the right hand side of the table. Miss Ashes was ticked off with me about something and after moving her x number of times off the table, I just gave up and worked on something else. Eventually, she moved and I was able to complete pinning this top together. Cats .... don't you just love them to bits? :o) Right now, I'm auditioning border fabrics for this top. That plaid is just yummy.

Does this top really need this red inner border? Hmmm, will have to think about this.

Have a great day!

Klosjes basting

Winter is here and the time has come to do some hand quilting. My queen size klosjes quilt is all marked up and ready to go. Usually, my quilts get basted on the floor; but it is just too hard these days to get down on hands and knees to do that chore. So, I'm trying this new method and so far it is much easier than I thought.

My two trusty assistants are on hand to help me out. Ashes is busy making sure that the basting thread doesn't get tangled up .... .... and Hank is making sure the backing and batting doesn't shift too much.

They were such big help .... that is until they both took off on a tear around the house. The working bit is over .... it is play time!

Have a great day!