After talking with local quilty friends about it, we figured that I would need eight tables - at any of The Villages rec centers - to lay it out. Several possible rec centers came up in conversation, but whenever a rec center room is open to quilters, it's understandable that those quilters are using the tables! Such was the case when I went to the weekly Big Cypress Quilters on Tuesday afternoon. Eight tables were not available. Even a quick stop at another rec center proved fruitless. So I returned home, determined to see the job done.
After thinking about emptying my sewing room, it occurred to me that I really didn't want to pin on the laminate floor, for fear of scratching it. So, I turned to our open living space to determine my best option.
I decided to empty the chat room. It has tile floor, and it's where the dining room is supposed to be. Since we don't have a dining room set, that space is our designated chat room with two chairs, console table, rug and silk plant.The tile got a good mopping, and the baseboard were cleaned too - an unanticipated side benefit of doing choosing this as a pin-basting spot!
Another good thing is that the painter's tape sticks nicely to the tile. Getting the tape to adhere to plastic table tops has previously been a problem.
As much as possible, I sat on my bum, though after a couple hours, that got sore too. (groan)
I completely emptied two tins of one-inch safety pins - well over 1,000, I'm sure. I store my straight pins separately from my curved pins, in separate tins. Now they're all in this quilt, and I'm still a little short of them. As I remove pins, I'll have to reinsert them in another place.
It's apparent that I have my work cut out for me! Another quilt is currently in the Janome, being FMQed, and now that mongo pile-o-quilt in the front - Picket Fence - is also waiting for attention.
My summertime physical activity is pretty obvious, isn't it? Quilt-wrestling! Linda
You can have a longarmer baste the quilt for you and reportedly it doesn't cost a lot.
ReplyDeleteLove your quilt but if I have to spend that much time on a floor, I might not be able to ever get up again. Have you ever tried spray basting and once done, just add a couple of pins for security?
ReplyDeleteHi Hettie! Thanks for your comment. I hope you will read it here because I am unable to reply to you via email. Your profile is set as "no-reply commenter." Yes, I have spray-basted quilts, and I like it! However, I never spray in the house, preferring to keep the aerosol outdoor. I spray the pieces outside and then bring each back into the house for adhering. In this case, I thought the parts of this quilt were too big to manage that way. I prefer to save spray basting for smaller projects. But thanks for thinking of alternative possibilities for me!
DeleteI'm glad you got it pin basted and I understand the pain. How do you plan to quilt it?
ReplyDeleteMY goodness - that is huge!! Good luck with wrestling that monster through your sewing machine. But reading about your quilting endeavours, it' sure to work of great.
ReplyDeleteThat is the way I've pin basted my large quilts before I got my long arm, but as someone else mentioned, I will use Gabi (my long arm) now to do basting for hand quilters and sometimes my own if I am quilting them on my Bernina. The other way I have found successful is Sharon Schamber's method us using the 2 primed base boards on a long table with the batting sandwiched in between and hand baste with embroidery thread. I can do a king size quilt in less than an hour, sitting on an office chair that rolls and taking out the threads as you quilt makes for easy handling at the domestic machine. Check out her video for the technique. link - https://www.google.com/search?q=sharon+schamber+basting&rlz=1C1WHCN_enUS707US707&oq=Sharon+Shamber&aqs=chrome.4.69i57j0l5.14083j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
ReplyDeleteBTW - I LOVE that quilt pattern. I have it on my life list.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that chore is behind you. Hopefully the wrestling part won't be too bad!!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Gorgeous quilt - I love the optical illusion effect! Can't wait to see the finished product! I'm sure you'll both be winners of this wrestling event!!
ReplyDeleteHi JC in TX! You're a no-reply commenter, so I hope you see my response here. I do want to say, "thank you!" for your lovely comment. Every single time I post a picture of a part of this quilt, everyone remarks on the same thing... the dimension that shows up. In person, that isn't as evident, and in fact I didn't really notice it until I looked at photos. As for quilting, I am expecting that it will take a while to accomplish, even with the simple pattern I have in mind. So what I need next is patience. In any case, I'm determined that it will definitely be a summer finish. Thank you for your support!
DeleteWow, if this isn't an example of commitment and pain--I'm sure it's going to be so worth it once it's quilted.
ReplyDeletewow I appreciate your stamina! Love this quilt!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a new Olympic sport- quilt wrestling! I am guess you'd win a gold medal for the US once these quilts are finished! Gold for LINDA!
ReplyDeleteOh my aching knees and back. I admire your ability to get on the floor to baste this. The quilt looks great and I am anxious to see how you quilt it.
ReplyDeleteLinda. this is an inspiring post. You are adorable in this photo You should have that photo printed and framed for display. One day you will look at that photo and say "wow, that was me"
ReplyDeleteYou and I could be twins. I also have a short and perky hair cut
This quilt is absolutely stunning. I am glad you had enough pins. I seem to never have enough haha Quilting this will be hilarious fun. You should put on happy music, even a few Frank Sanatra tunes perhaps, and sing along
Happy Thursday Dear friend down there in the Villages.
Man, oh man, are you ambitious! Just constructing a top that big was a major accomplishment! I'm in awe!
ReplyDeleteLinda your quilt is so lovely! When I baste on the floor I use one of those kneeling pads they make for gardeners and it helps quite a bit. Sometimes I use folded towels, too.
ReplyDeleteI am in awe! The top is "wow" and pin basting is something I have yet to be good at. On the floor, no way for this arthritic 70 yo grandma! I agree with the commenter about the photo of you on the floor looking at the camera. It is frame worthy!. You go girl!
ReplyDelete