Lisa ~ What size are the blocks and quilt top? What type of batting do plan on using? Different battings have a suggested stitch distance. Hobbs is 4" and Warm and Natural is 10" Depending upon the size of your bow ties you might not be able to stitch in the ditch.

IMHO ~ I think it would look cool to X thru all the yellow plain blocks with a variegated thread and IMHO doing X'ing on the quilt is easier than SID. You would be able to go from one corner straight to the opposite corner all the way across the quilt. Where as, SID you are following the ditch and your eyes cross, you jump out of the ditch and swear, then your shoulders get tense and your back hurts . . . but you are bound to get it done.... then you jump out the ditch AGAIN :evil: and do some more swearing ... and turn the music up louder so no one hears you swearing OMG the back is really getting tight. UH-OH I think I am having a flash back. Would that be Post traumatic 'SID' syndrome?

Thread basting is mostly used for hand quilting.

Pinning is time consuming (and sometimes back breaking), but IMHO a great learning method and it gives you 'room' for errors. Remember use your fist as your measurer. Pins should be 3" - 4" apart.

Spray basting has lots of benefits . . . I like 505 ... but if you spray to heavy it is a dickens to 'adjust' the fabrics. Sprays are best if you go lightly, not the motto 'more is better'. But looking (I'm guessing) your quilt is a large lap to a small twin. For learning on using sprays IMHO I would start smaller (crib, table topper etc)

Sorry about all the IMHO . . . but we all have to learn what works for us. For me I spray smaller quilts, pins the mediums and the LARGE/HUGE ones goes to the quilter.

I sure hope I'm not scaring people about quilting their own quilts :roll:

good luck

That is a pretty quilt. I love the colors and that border is wonderful. Where I start quilting depends what I am going to do. ( Stitch in the Ditch or stipple. )

The blocks are 4 inches and I'm using Warm and Natural (pricey stuff, isn't it?). The quilt is about 55 x 70. I call it "nap size". Truthfully, I'm not entirely sure how it got that big. It started as a crib pattern and I pretty much doubled it and added borders. It's bigger than I thought it would be.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to pin baste it. The spray sounds like something I could make a mess with.

Looking good. :D

I use the 505 spray and spray lightly and it works great for me on a quilt of this size. I do spray in sections getting one settled before moving to the next. I then pin. You could try on a small piece to get the hang of it.
Good luck!

Great job, it's very pretty!

It looks really nice. My bowties don't look quite as nice.

Lisa, your quilt top is so pretty! I love the colors and the border. Good job!

Lisa, love the quilt and the border.
I use pin basting and always have because I have the best luck with this kind of basting. Though I agree, if the quilt is large it is a killer on your back. I also use my closed fist to measure the distance between pins.
I guess at the middle because my experience has been you don't have to be exactly dead center in the middle. I think they only use that as a measurement because you have less of a chance to have the fabric bunching up while you are quilting it.
I would to SID if you have an in the ditch foot for your machine for the bowties, but as said by someone eariler, it will depend on the size and distance of your bowties and the space in between. If you want to stay with the geometric look then an "X" through the plain blocks would probably work. If it was me I would do a meandering stitch on those blocks.
Long winded aren't I??http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/s...aughing024.gif

I love the spray basting. It allows you to have a very taught sandwich, much like the long arm quilters. I have found that after spraying the backing (wrong side of fabric) it is best to use masking tape and secure it to the floor so that it is taught. Then place the batting on top of the backing. I spray my batting or fabric in the garage or outside if it's not windy or cold. I have sprayed either fabric or batting and not found a difference. After smoothing out the batting on top of the backing fabric, I spray the back of my quilt top. Sometimes it is helpful to have a friend take two corners and you hold onto two corners as you transport the fabric that has been sprayed, that way you avoid the inevitable flipping that occurs and the need to pull it back apart, possibly stretching something. I usually find it helpful to lightly press the sandwich and pull everything taught and remove any bubbles. I do this from the top first, before removing the masking tape around the perimeter of the backing attaching it to the floor. Then I flip it over and make sure the backing is taught, pressing it. Remember, to spray lightly, check with your hand to feel tackiness, you won't be able to see it.