Ahhh!! --- Sandwiching and Basting Made Easier!

I know it's too soon for me to be posting again, but forgive me!  Some of you had asked that I report on my experience with Sharon Schamber's method of sandwiching a quilt, as recommended by Ruth, our Country Log Cabin Quilter.  ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA   and  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_EjBGz5vGQ&NR=1  )  As you know by now, I often bite off more than I can chew.   I thought I might have done it again, but I think I've gotten it down without choking, and I just can't wait to tell you about it.  Maybe my notes will help you.

I had mentioned that I bought my boards, 8 ft. (96") and some smaller ones as well.  Common sense would tell me to experiment with a small quilt, but no, I jumped out on a big one.  My Stack and Whack quilt backing is 82" wide; the sunroom countertop is 96".   It's been a handful, but I've just about finished it; just the last border to baste yet, but I ran out of Perle Cotton and will have to get more.   If you decide to do this, be sure to buy the largest Perle Cotton thingy you can, because it will take more than the one about the size of a half dollar to do a full sized quilt!  You will be needing more for your next quilt anyway!

I watched the video twice again before beginning, and I did my very best to do exactly what Sharon did, but getting started was the toughest part for me.  Actually I started out on the den carpet!  I wanted to spread out the backing across one end, and then center the top on it.  I then pinned the two together across the top end so I could then move them to the sunroom cabinet where I removed the pins of course.  That really helped me get started straight.  I kept having a hard time keeping the first wrap around the boards; 8 ft. is too long to hold both ends!  So I got my blue painter's tape and gently taped  4-5 places to hold it to the board; after that I was able to wrap more easily. 

Then when I turned the rolls around to begin layering, after putting the batting in place, I centered and pinned again along that end.  Every time I unrolled a section on the cabinet, I measured from the top edge to the backing edge on each side to be sure I was staying centered and straight the full length of the top.  I don't think Sharon mentioned the pins, or the measuring, but those things really helped me. 

My cabinet fortunately was long enough to handle the boards; the board portion sticking out past the cabinet made it easier for my dead tingling hands to grab and turn to unwrap another section.  The best part was I didn't even have to bend over or get on the floor, except at the very beginning for ten minutes!  My cabinet is exactly the right heighth to be comfortable.

Sorry, but I didn't think to take pictures until I was this far along.  The part hanging down had already been basted.  See the batting behind the boards?  It kept me from being able to stack the boards flat, but actually the top board gave a sharp edge against the counter and held it tight.  I also pinned four times across just in front of the boards after I got everything straight and tight, just in case something slipped, and then basted up to those pins before I unwrapped more. 

This shows how smooth and tight the board keeps the backing.  
That's the easiest layer to work.  Just pull the already basted portion to the front of the cabinet, and push on that board occasionally to keep it tight.  If you have a long, wider table, it might be easier, but I found that working about 18-20" deep for the basting worked well for me.

Here I've rolled the batting back over the backing board, and carefully smoothed the batting all the way across.  Again, not difficult at all; just be sure to get it smooth and flat.  Then when the top was unwrapped again, I measured again both sides from the green edge to the edge of the backing to be sure I was staying straight.  It truly was not difficult!

Here, if you look at the whitest block above and now to the left, you will see the basting progress; as a section is basted, it is just pulled forward, and the boards are heavy enough to give total control of where you are to baste next.   Now I've completed basting what's on the cabinet, and have unwrapped the last wrap and after measuring again, I left the boards on the edge of the border, ready to finish basting when I get more thread tomorrow. 

Here's the backing, all finished basting except the last border.
There is a little bit of puffiness, but I think it will stretch out flat when it's not folded up; there are not really any wrinkles anywhere.  Click on the picture to enlarge, so you can see it better. 


I am so pleased with the result! Of course, I may have a different feeling when I finally get to quilting it.  I know I've never had a quilt basted as well, regardless of size! I wish I could have finished this evening, but at least the boards are now all unrolled, and just weighting down the last section --- the border--- to be basted when I get more thread. I could have used regular thread I guess, but that perle cotton feels so secure, and holds so much better! I hope to begin quilting it before too long, but I'm sure that if I decided to wait six months, it would still be secure!

Try it sometime; you'll like it!   

---"Love"