North Star ready for my winter quilting project

I can’t think of a better way to get through the cold winter evenings than sitting with a quilt in your lap quilting away the storms outside. This quilt may last through more than one winter, but that is just fine. It is always the journey not the destination that pleases me, when it comes to quilting, that is..

I have to clarify that for my kids, before they fall off the chair laughing.

I found a new way of basting a quilt, new to me I should say. Maybe others do it this way all the time.

I googled "How to baste a quilt" and found this wonderful video on YouTube by Sharon Schamber. It made perfect sense to me. So much better than my old method of basting which involved the pain of crawling around on the floor.

I just happened to have a couple of 1”x2” boards in the shop. I covered them with fabric then I pinned the quilt edge to the fabric before rolling the quilt top on, then doing the same with the quilt back.

The batting lays free in between the top and back.

I was able to baste the whole quilt while sitting comfortably at the table. Unrolling and smoothing it out as you go.

I have always used the tailors basting stitch, to prepare for hand quilting, the same stitch that Sharon used in this video. Basting with pins for machine quilting will work with this method too.

This was the easiest method I have ever used for basting a quilt, and the end product was smooth and ready to mark.

I recommend watching the videos (there are 2) if you are getting a quilt ready for machine quilting or hand quilting.

If you have ever basted or pinned a quilt on the floor or even bending over a table, your knees and back will love you for taking the time to watch the videos I promise.

Happy Quilting!