Learning to Love ... Basting a Quilt

A few days ago, I posted that I was going to focus on learning to love the preparation phases of quilting that tend to slow me down or, when I resist them completely, stop working on one project and picking up something easier/more fun.  One of those potentially project-stopping preparation processes is layering and basting a quilt.

I think, for me, there are two aspects to consider: attitude and technique.

Attitude

In terms of attitude, this weekend I was reminded of one of my favorite little books, Peace is Every Step, by Thich Nhat Hanh. It is about cultivating a mindfulness in everything we do ... and thinking about it made me consider being more mindful in my quilt making and remember that the care we take in each step makes the following one go more smoothly.   Or, at least, that's what I was telling myself as I carefully pressed the checkerboard picnic quilt top and backing before layering and basting the quilt :-)

Technique

When it comes to technique, of course, practice makes perfect ... but technique can also be improved, made more efficient and/or faster, by learning from others.

Basting a quilt is something where I know that I have miles to go to perfect my technique ... and learn to love the process.  I'd love your comments on how I could do it better/faster.

Bad knees and a lack of space make layering and basting on the floor impractical for me, so I use a table like this one, which is approximately 35 by 60 inches. Mine is covered with cutting mat. (Both acquired long ago either on sale or with coupons at JoAnn.)

 My tools of the trade (above) for securing the quilt sandwich are painters tape for smaller quilts and clamps,  used at the edge of the table, for larger quilts that hang over the edge.

For quilts that are larger than the table top, I center the backing, batting and top on the center of the table.



 Once the layers are perfectly smooth and clamped to the table to keep it that way, I dump the pins (from their extra large Rx container and start pinning. once the quilt on the surface of the table is basted, I release the clamps, slide the quilt so that another section is on the table, check to make sure everything is flat and smooth and rinse and repeat ... until the entire quilt is basted and ready to be quilted.


Sometimes I have help. Johnny–who I wasn't fast enough to capture with the camera–tries to remove the pins, but Grace just wants to roll around on the quilt and play (she also loves to help make the bed, pretty much in the same way.)

How do you baste quilts?

Do you have any suggestions for me?

This isn't a design wall post–the Cotton Robin quilt that I'm finishing is on the wall, but cannot be shared for another month or so–but I'm joining Judy's link list for Design Wall Monday because ... with your help, I hope to design a better, more enjoyable process.