I have a short arm
I baste the quilt back, batting and top at the main roller and then roll the back to another roller and top to a third
I do use clamps or pins along the side to keep everything neat
if there is a simple meander, I work left to right and back again
other wise it is left to right and then return to the starting end before I roll the quilt on
I have a hard enough time quilting continuously, that I start at a side, not from the middle.
....although I did once turn a quilt to make the border quilting follow a set design