Originally Posted by
SusieQOH
A lot of teachers tell you to have squares nearby to quilt before you start your quilting. This advice comes from seasoned quilters. It makes sense to me to "warm up" before you actually start.
This is what I do too. I have several placemat sized 'sandwiches' ready to test out quilting patterns. They are good for checking your stitch length and balance, too.
I save my scraps that are big enough to make 13" squares to use in QAYG. Also the narrower strips... they are good for inserting in the sashings when you QAYG with sashings instead of narrow joinings. In the mean time, I keep old batting bags to stuff the pieces in so they won't be all over the place.