need more info - hand or machine quilting
domestic machine or long arm

I quilt on the diagonal all the time. It is wonderful with a Yellow Brick Road or any "scrappy" block that is consistent in size. I like to use a wavy or a "loop de loop" stitch on the diagonal.

I'm thinking of using it with my long arm. Do I load it by a corner first and isn't it alot of wasted backing if I don't load the backing on the diag also? Just trying to think this thru first...

If you are just going to quilt diagonal lines on a quilt, then normally you would just load it straight and stitch the lines using a ruler. The higher end machines have special rulers to do this task, if your machine does not have one, then use one of the marking methods suggested above. The only time I've heard of loading the quilt on the diagonal was for a WOF chenille throw, and yes, you do waste the backing fabric.

Yes, I did a log cabin on the diagonial on DM; also my Yellow Brick Rd.

I made a charm quilt and used a walking foot to do diagonal lines across the quilt. It turned out great and was easy to do. Didnt need to mark the quilt just eye balled from corner to corner.

I've quilted several quilts on the diagonal. I start at one corner and go all the way across. I quilt all the lines going the same direction. When you alternate directions when you're quilting you can get some twisting.

I machine quilted a square log cabin quilt on my vintage Bernina 830 using the Bernina walking foot. This foot has a sliding guide, which was immensely helpful. I chose channel quilting with diagonal lines going in one direction,1 inch apart.

After basting, I carefully marked the first diagonal through the center of the quilt with chalk, using my 6" X 24" ruler with 45 degree markings lined up to the straight seams of the blocks. After stitching that line, I used the walking foot guide to stitch lines one inches apart. I alternated stitching lines so I would stitch on one side of the center diagonal and then move to the other. At the same time I alternated directions, so that I was stitching from left to right on one line and right to left on the adjacent line. This helps minimize distortion on the bias.

After stitching several lines, I would remove the quilt and check the straightness of my lines and used painter's tape to mark the next line. I did this because a couple of times I wandered off the straight line somehow and had to rip out a couple of rows of stitching. I think this is because I was using a domestic machine with a standard harp where it is easier to get lost.

After I had stitched the longer lines in the middle of the quilt, I began to stitch 4 or 5 lines on one side then switch over to the other side. I still turned the quilt after each row of stitching and stitched in the opposite direction.

I think this is my favorite way to quilt on a regular sewing machine. I have taught myself to FMQ, but I still get shoulder and back strain from tension and movement. The walking foot does more work for me and I don't have to fight with the quilt to SID.

Harriet Hargrave's "Heirloom Machine Quilting" has a chapter describing how to mark the central diagonal lines for channel or grid quilting on rectanglar quilts. I also liked the diagrams she showed for variations of diagonal lines.

I recently made a 'diamond' quilt that I quilted on the diagonal using a ruler. I wanted to use my quilting foot because I had to go around some applique but soon found that I can't sew a straight line to save my soul with the quilting foot. So, I took my "Add a quarter" ruler and placed painter's tape on the under side to show the width of the rows I wanted. By using the thicker side as a guide, I just placed it so the previous stitching line and stitched with the foot right against the edge of the ruler. It worked great! I put some photos up, here's the link.
http://tjzoriginalz.blogspot.com/201...-now-what.html
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJklyfYY5b...uilt%2B001.jpg

I have always thought that cross hatching really can pop especially an applique quilt. My avatar was stitched diagonally. So was the lap quilt that I took 2nd in the recent quilt contest. I always start stitching from the center and work my way out. I always marked my top with a "Hera" marker (made by Clover). I quilted on a Bernina 1530. You always want to check with your originally base line so that you don't wander off with your marking. You want your lines to be straight and accurate. GOOD LUCK !! :)