MDQuilter

Practice for 15 -20 minutes on a 'scrap' quilt before actually quilting on the real thing. This helps warm up hands, arms, and shoulders and also helps the body 'memorize' the quilting pattern. Things start out kinda bad if I don't do this; my arms and brain take a while to work together and make things flow. Machingers are the best quilting gloves I've used. I have tried rolling the quilt, but have found that to be really cumbersome. Now, I just scrunch the quilt. I LOVE spray basting. I've had tops basted this way last for more than a year without quilting...no movement at all. It's great, but watch for over spray and if you're prone to migraines, use only outside on a breezy...ish day.

maminstl

If you sign up for Leah Day's first Craftsy class on this subject, she goes through many details of the mechanics of FMQ. I watched numerous youtube videos, many of them very good - but this class was well worth the money in my opinion.

Buckeye Rose

Washable school glue ( Elmers ) is great to baste your quilt too. I was a spray baster, but once I tried washable school glue, I never sprayed again. It is super easy and super cheap. There is a tutorial on the board here to show you how. I've done king sized quilts with no shifting of fabrics, so no puckers on the backside. Clean up is wet washrag (no overspray, no fumes, no nasty chemicals that may not wash out). And the best part is that it washes out completely with warm water and detergent. There are many quilters here who use washable glue, all with a different technique, but the basics are simple....drizzle it onto the batting, spread out the top/backing onto the batting, either iron dry or air dry, flip and repeat. I just hold the bottle about 12" above batting, tip wide open, squeeze and go back and forth to form a grid of thin lines about 3-4" apart (closer is ok). It isn't an exact science, so if your lines aren't straight or you cross lines, it is all ok. The occasional blob just gets smoothed out with the finger. Some will use the small foam brushes to smooth it out, or thin down the glue. And my machine never even notices that the glue is there when fmq....no gummy needles ever (as long as the glue is dry). When the quilt is done, toss it in the washer....tada!....glue all gone.

toverly

I would recommend relax your shoulders and start in the morning. I spray baste the day before, set it up to quilt, then quilt the next morning. I do it this way because when I have to stop either for mealtimes, or family, it never seems to look the same when I get back to it. I do alot of meandering or puzzle peicing design quilting. And, though my friends tease me, a glass of wine helps. Not two or three but one glass.