Most of us have the fear factor to plague us as we prepare to FMQ-especially on a newly sandwiched item for fear we will make mistakes and have to take it out. Just start and move forward. One of the things I learned early was to STID to stabilize my quilt. After I do that, I quilt the borders first and then bind the quilt. It eliminated lots of bulk. Then I move further to the center. The stabilizing does two things as far as I can see. It allows you to see any areas that might have pleats and puckers-you can work them out to the edges easily at this point. Secondly, it allows you to work in small areas to quilt. On my next quilt I plan to use wash away thread to STID so I can enhance my quilting designs.