I was told that hand quilters baste (because it's easier to remove those basting stitches as you come to them while hand quilting) and that machine quilters use pins (because it's easier to remove a safety pin than a basting stitch when your machine quilting comes to that area). I've tried both, and believe me, my friend was right. I basted but had a terrible time taking out the basting stitches before I machine quilted that area, all while the quilt was on the machine still.
If I'm working with a larger quilt though, I do like to use a basting spray and pins to keep it all together a little better.