muskratwine

Try using glycerin on your hands - it makes your hands a little tacky and isn't hot like gloves or awkward like pads. the glycerin won't leave any stains on your quilt and will make your hands softer. I got a bottle at WalMart phamacy and you only need a drop -the bottle will last forever.

DonnaC

Carol34446 - That YouTube video was great! She really made it understandable, and I love her method. Thanks for posting the link.

cpcarolyn

Thanks for all the great ideas.

amelia0607

I am currently quilting my first. Its a baby quilt. I am rolling also and have wondered the same thing. I have my machine set up on corner of dining table & throw llength over my shoulder. I do have to make sure quilt does not et wedged between me &table.

SooBDo

Another handy video is from Marguerita McManus (she's got several). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g14govA4pIM This particular video is how to build a cheap sewing & quilting table, and the beauty is that it gives your quilt plenty of room on the side and in back to move freely while you quilt.

Prism99

The first explanation I ran across for my favorite method (splitting the batting into 3 parts) was in a book by Debra Wagner. Unfortunately, I don't know which book; however, all three of her books are fabulous.

This method is my favorite because no one will ever know you did the quilt in sections. I used it with 505 basting spray.

Basically I layered my backing and batting, with batting centered on top. I visually divided the batting into 3 pieces. I placed a cutting mat underneath the batting, used a permanent Sharpie to mark registration lines (horizontal marks) along where I was going to cut, and then cut the batting. Before separating the batting pieces, I used the Sharpie to also mark "top" of the batting and "right" (for the batting piece to be removed to the right side). Did the same for the left, then removed the left and right pieces of batting to a safe place. Next step was to peel down the remaining center batting and spray baste as usual. Then I centered the top over this and spray basted the center of the top to the center of the batting.

The center of the quilt is the hardest to machine quilt. Removing the batting from right and left sections means that you are stuffing just fabric under the arm of the machine, making maneuvering much easier. When quilting the center, I left about 6" unquilted on each side. This is important, because you need some space to re-attach the batting.

To re-attach a batting side, I simply laid out the quilt and peeled the top and backing apart (where the excess spray had stuck them together). I used batting tape (which is really just strips of fusible interfacing) to reattach a batting side to the middle batting, and spray basted that side. After quilting one side, I did the same for the other side.

With this method it's really important to mark the batting as you cut so that you can re-attach the batting pieces exactly as they were. If you don't mark, it's really easy to struggle with trying attach the left batting to the right side, or attach a side upside down or wrong side up. Don't skip the registration marks!

Hope this helps. I have not seen the Marti Michell book, but I expect she describes this method somewhere in there.

Rose_P

This is what works for me, to the extent that I can FMQ at all, which isn't great, but I'm still practicing. It might be good to watch this Leah Day video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nz0Q...=TL37x4B3u9qt0 especially starting at about 7:16. Patsy Thompson also has a series of excellent videos on the subject. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39I5A3iyCtw

Even with an ideal set-up it seems to me that quilting a large quilt is a tough physical struggle, but it's do-able. The biggest struggle for me is to overcome a tendency to bunch up all my muscles and approach it like a wrestling match. That really does not produce the results I'm after.

meyert

Prism99: good idea! I never would have thought of that on my own. I may have to try that next time..... sometimes I quilt diagonally, so I will have to think about it.. it should still work if I have my blue painters tape on the top of the quilt THANK YOU

Friday1961

When I first began quilting on my DSM I found the whole thing frustrating and a trial and thought "this is not for me!" But it got easier -- or I just got used to it -- with the second one. And now I feel more confident, it works much better, and I even enjoy it (mostly!). I tried rolling and still do that sometimes but I also puddle, depending on the quilt and how well it wants to cooperate. I should qualify all this by saying I haven't done any fancy quilting, just SITD and line quilting using a wavy line that is a pattern on my Brother Innov'is 450Q machine.

Damkina

I've tried pegging, rolling and also folding, but in the end I've just settled for puddling, getting the quilt under there and go! It did help when I realised how dense I was being and finally got the dining room table extension out... Those extra feet have worked wonders.
That said, the ironing board may still be going into service in the next couple of weeks as I have a king size to quilt.