Sunday 20 April 2014

Gettin' down!

Yep, I've been gettin' down. On the floor.
I counted up the unquilted tops I have lurking in my cupboard. I hang them on hangers amongst my clothes so they are almost hidden, thereby not bothering me with their finish me demands. 2 baby quilts. 2 lap sized quilts that I dislike. 2 bigger quilts that I have booked in to get longarmed. And 2 that I have given myself a stern talking to about, and am planning to quilt over the holidays. Here is quilt #1:


I have a bit of an unconventional approach to basting *call it indecisive if you must*. I use basting spray - not too thoroughly mind, and pins, also not too thoroughly. I'm not sure how or why I have developed this approach but it seems to work well enough.

I baste on the carpet using a sophisticated pin-the-backing-to-the-carpet technique.


The floor space in my wee dwelling is not huge. I'm not complaining - I am grateful that I can live comfortably when lots of people aren't as fortunate, but as far as basting goes, it does sometimes feel like I'm playing solo Twister. I think this could be why I have a few too many unfinished quilt tops in my cupboard. Well that's my story anyway and I'm sticking to it!



14 comments:

  1. This looks wonderful! Does the overspray not make your carpet sticky?

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  2. I've been basting this weekend too! I am lucky to have a landing outside my flat that I can use, but boy- is my back and gluts suffering! I also use the 'some spray/some pins' method! I don't think I trust either on their own! Your quilt looks lovely BTW!

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  3. Your quilt looks lovely! Looking forward to seeing how you quilt it! L

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  4. It's a beauty, Megan! I've got several tops that I need to give myself a stern talking to about finishing up! Glad to see I'm not alone!

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  5. Curious about your combo basting method...good luck getting thru your pile...

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  6. I move all my furniture out of the dining room, so I have a firm surface for basting, I have tried pin it to the carpet, but it didn't work too well.

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  7. I love this quilt Megan. Can't wait to see it all quilted! The cuzco works so well with the grey.

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  8. this is a very beautiful quit! do you need my address so you can send it to me? lol seriously this looks like a great way to put a quilt sandwich together. i use my kitchen table and safety pin it, sometimes using as many as 5,000 pins depending on the size of the quilt and the blocks in it. i have quilted for over forty years i piece by hand, quilt by hand, and donate to charity i done even have one of my quilts. my income is less than four hundred dollars monthly for disability, so buying fabric is not an option. i enter giveaways and even win sometimes and a few bloggers have sent me scraps.i found out last week that i have bladder cancer to go along with several other health problems if you ever have any scraps, orphan blocks, or tops that you dont want, i would be honored to finish them and donate. keep up the great work, you have an excellent eye for color placement blessings, barbara babscorbitt@gmail.com

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  9. Love it … never thought to pin the back to the carpet … have been taping it to the hard wood floors and then rushing to get it done before the tape lets go of the floor or the quilt back ;-)

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  10. you crack me up! the two-prong basting approach and one-person twister in your small-ish space. i'm surprised the spray doesn't get all over your carpet! it definitely gets on my tile floor. love your pin the backing down idea. i just use regular scotch tape on my tile. works for me!

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  11. Pinning the backing to the carpet is genius - never though of it because I have hardwood floors. I bet the carpet helps it from slipping around too. Love the quilt - how long has it been hiding in the closet?

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  12. That is freakin brilliant. I too am pondering the sticky floor. Are you just a very tidy sprayer? :-)

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  13. I love your quilt in progress and I adore the Wise Owl quilt you made in 2011. Was that a pattern or did you create your own pattern? Love it.

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  14. Finally! I've been waiting for this one to be finished for far too long ;-)

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