Well, I'll be the voice of difference, LOL!
I just finished a large 36 block log cabin quilt the I had to quilt on my home sewing machine. To avoid *some* of the bulk, I waited to add my borders, batting for the borders, and backing for the borders, until I had finished doing the quilting -- leaving about an inch of fabric free of quilting at each side.
This I then turned back, butted and joined the batting (in my case a 14" strip per side) to the batting that was already in the quilt; then joined the borders as if I were regularly applying them; then added the backing strips (again about 14" wide). I then quilted the borders easily by maneuvering just the outside edges of the quilt under the needle rather than fighting the whole bulk of the thing.
A bit more effort at the work table, a lot less fighting at the machine for me.
Jan in VA