I find hand basting relaxing. I put on good music or a movie and baste away. I do it right there at my breakfast bar where there is lots of light. I work on one section at a time and before I know it, half the quilt it done. Then I do the other half in another session. It is a pain to remove the basting, but it's worth it. I just hate the safety pins and the plastic basting gun. When it's time to baste, I grumble and complain, but once I get started, it's relaxing.