I just took a class. Some of my favorite suggestions- use Hobbs batting that has the fusible stuff on both sides, so you fuse the front and back to the batting (washes out), big safety pins every few inches (and don't close them until all are in place), and take a deep breath, suck it up, and get it done. :-D also suggested not to use a mono color on the backing, a pattern will hide a multitude of quilting imperfections. virg