All Pin Basted, Now What? Need help
 

This will be only my third time quilting a quilt and I am intimidated to get started. Does any one have a link to a video of actually getting going after pin basting? All videos I have found already have some quilting done and only a few pins left. Removing these pins :rolleyes: I'm just not sure. Are there too many pins on this quilt? Seems like a whole lot of starting and stopping. How in the world would you ever FMQ ? I am going to stitch in the ditch on my home machine. Will be trying a walking foot. Any suggestions are more than welcome.
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Sorry, wrong overall pic. Here is the pinned one.
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Looks about right for pins. Just pick a spot to get started, lower your foot, and go slowly. Remove the pins one at a time as you get close to them. You may need to remove 3-4 in the spot where you start - just make sure the foot never goes over or up against a pin and you'll be fine. I usually remove them 3-4 inches in front of where I'm sewing. After the first couple of passes, you'll find there are fewer to remove each time. I would stitch across the middle (or near it) both across and up & down as the first 2 passes, to stabilize. Then work out from there.

It a beautiful quilt, and I'm sure you'll do great!

As you get more experience, you'll find that you can plan your pinning to minimize the number of pins that will be "in the way" on any pass which will speed the process. But there's nothing wrong with what you have done for this one.

I don't pin - mostly because I don't want to have to remove pins to quilt. I hand baste with water soluble thread (I don't like having to snip thread to quilt either - basically I want to plunk the sucker down and go - but I hate spray basting ... but I digress from the OP ...)

Unless the quilt needs some kind of special treatment that requires us to quilt something other than the center first - we typically start in the center. Since the outside of your quilt is WELL pinned :0 there is little chance of shifting if only the center pins are removed. I would remove all the pins inside one of the blocks and all the pins in the sashing that are less than 4" from the block (to avoid hitting them with the foot). Make sure you keep the quilt taut with splayed hands while you quilt to prevent puckers. SITD around that block - then move to the next center block. Then you can move to the blocks on the outside leaving the pins in the borders. When you are ready to quilt the borders, remove only the pins that are in the area that you intend to work.

I think SITD will work nice for this quilt, but you might need something else in the yellow border. That will depend on the width of the border and the of batting you are using. Actually ... I still kinda think the border needs something - I don't like to leave borders unquilted as it invites bunching and makes binding that much more difficult. I would suggest straight lines from the inner border to the outside edge.

I agree with kristakz. It looks like most will be out of the way. You'll just have to stop for a few. I switched to 505 spray basting. No pins.

Be careful when using a walking foot with pins. I ruined a new, expensive Bernina walking foot when a safety pin became caught on the back of the walking foot and I didn't notice it right away. It stretched the spring inside the walking foot and rendered the foot useless. Ever since then I do not use safety pins when I am maching quilting. I am much happier using 505 basting spray -- not only faster than pinning, but safer for my walking foot! Plus, basting spray keeps all layers of the quilt in contact with each other continuously (instead of just where the pins are).

As has been mentioned, you should be fine as long as you remove pins around the area where you will be quilting. Just don't miss one, the way I did!

Looks pinned good to me. I hand quilted a few and had them pinned close like you have. You just remove a few in the way as you go.

I no longer pin but spray baste. Pins should be every 4 inches or so. Start quilting from the cneter out and remove pins before you do the next small section. Have fun!

Looks as if you have pinned it very well. My suggestion for the first seams, considering your block placement, would be to make a sort of tic-tac-toe grid. Vertically, if you went right down the middle you would be stitching in the dead center of your blocks. I would stitch down the right and left sides of the middle blocks and do the same for your horizontal lines. Then quilt each block, removing the pins and leaving you about 4-5 inches of sewing room at a time. Some may disagree with what I say next, but it works for me. I quilt the borders down last all the way around instead of going into the borders when I'm making my initial stabilizing quilting lines. You have a lovely quilt and I'm sure you will do very well!