Let the fun begin
 

It is crawl on the floor day as I get ready to glue baste my lap quilt. Not fun but a necessary step before machine quilting. I really like using my pool noodle to roll up my top on so I can roll it out over the glue. I am ironing as I roll it out but have to stop and clean my iron of glue residue once and a while. Does anyone else find that the Elmer's washable glue kind of puts a bit of scum on their iron? I could let it dry by itself but I like the nice flatness ironing gives it.[ATTACH=CONFIG]560399[/ATTACH]

I feel your pain tartan. I hate to get down on the floor to pin baste. My knees just won't take it anymore.

My knees are still ok for getting on the floor but it's my back that feels the pain the next day! I've never used glue on my quilts. I like the idea of the pool noodle to roll your quilt on. Lucky for you it's only a lap quilt & not a King Size. :)

The pain of basting was one of the main reasons I talked myself into getting a longarm. I can get down on my knees and scoot around the floor okay, but getting up again - that's the problem!

I found fold in half 6 ft black folding tables at Walmart. Two of them we less than $70. They fold down to 3 ft and can go behind a piece of furniture, back of a closet etc. I bought them one at a time and I am very thankful-there are many problems with basting on the floor - accuracy being a big concern and I spray baste so over spray is a also a concern. I don't have room or $ for a long arm so DSM quilting is what I do - I'm going to learn to use rulers hopefully next summer when I have time to really work on it. Good luck with your lap quilt I am looking forward to seeing the pictures!

This is EXACTLY me, Dunster!! Getting down is not a big deal... getting up again... well, let's just say that takes awhile!

I've had my longarm for about 6 years now, and never regretted it for even a second!! I was so tired of pleats and puckers and warps and wobbles on the back of my quilts, and I felt guilty paying a LA'er to finish my tops, that I finally found someone who would let me put a machine "on lay-away". It took me 2 years to get her paid for, but she was well worth it!
I have a handful of regular customers, but since I still have a "real" job, I'm not really pushing that too much right now. She has paid for herself in the number of quilts I have finished since I bought her, plus I've done several consignment quilts that I would not have tackled without having the longarm.

once again Dunster, you speak for me!

Oh dear! I am so sorry to hear the backing might have polyester in it. I have found that is a problem with too many of the broadcloth fabrics. I hope the nightmare i is over soon. I feel your pain.

Dina

I use my cutting table to baste my quilts. I just lay the backing fabric over the table, make sure it's smooth. Then I lay the batting, smoothing as I go. Then I lay the top, getting it smooth. Pin from the center out, checking for smoothness. When the part that's on the table is pinned, I slide off to get to another part. I check smoothness of the backing, batting and top on the new part and pin away. Works for me. Sometimes I will spray the backing before laying the batting on it, but I always pin the top unless it's a small quilt.

using this method, I don't have to get down on the floor, I can baste any size quilt I want and I've never had problems with puckers, pleats, etc. I do all my quilting on my DSM.

Rob

I know your feelings, Tartan! I hate basting on the floor. My house is small and with children running around, it's nearly impossible to do it. I'm either going to borrow a folding table for my next quilt and try that method of basting, or I'm going to try QAYG. I would love a LA, but the cost is no where near our budget! In my dreams only...

I like the Sharon Schambers basting method with the boards and there's a video on pin basting a large quilt on a small table. If you're going to glue baste and heat set with an iron, might I suggest an old piece of fabric/pressing cloth. No glue should stick to the iron.

Sorry to hear of your problems Tartan. You began so happy and now you seem deflated. This too shall pass! I always read the labels on broadcloth to stay away from the polyester but did not realize glueing it was also an issue. Good to know.

The fold in half 6 x 4 tables are great. Easy to store and to tote, there is a handle on the side. If you are by yourself, open the table on it's side and then take one end and flip it right side up. I tried basting on the floor one time and knew I'd never do that again.

Oh no............we have all been there with at least one quilt. Feel your pain !

All I can think of if and when I do get on the floor is the ad, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up." The lady in the ad wears some kind of medical alert pendant.

There's no way I can work on the floor with my knees. I do my Elmer's school glue basting on a tabletop. I first iron my backing and quilt top so I'm not starting with wrinkles. I lay out half the batting on the table, letting the rest hang. I position the backing on that half and let the rest hang. Then I roll the backing down to near the edge of the table, dot the batting with the glue, and smooth the backing up over the batting. I iron it lightly to help set the glue, but keep the heat low enough that it can't hurt the tabletop for the brief time I'm ironing. Then I flip everything around and do the other half, working from the center of the quilt on the edge of the table, putting glue on the batting and smoothing the backing up over it to the tope edge. Flip it over and repeat it all with the quilt top. I usually let it then set to make sure the glue is completely dry before folding it or starting to quilt. All this is actually a fairly quick process, and easier for me than trying to get it all smooth on the floor.

I've also used this method for when I use fleece as the backing, and omit the batting. Using the iron to dry the glue, I've not had issues with it adhering to the fleect.

I sometime have some glue dots on my iron, but it has a non-stick plating and I wipe it right off. I don't use so much glue that a lot of it soaks heavily through the fabric.

I do the table-top basting method too, best "innovation" I've ever found in quilting. I'm not all that old (41) but already have had a hip replaced and have had arthritis in my lower back since I was a teenager, so crawling around on the floor has NEVER been something that worked out well for me!

I think I get the best results with that method, too. The weight of the hanging fabrics puts just the right amount of "tension" on things - when I DID baste on the floor I think I would over-stretch things and sometimes end up with puckers. Now everything is flat and naturally relaxed and it all goes together wonderfully.

I just basted a quilt with that abominable (But effective) spray glue yesterday. I hate glue. I think spray glue is awful, but it sure holds my quilt together well. Now the worst is over and I am on a downhill slide toward the finish line. I sympathize with your woes, but, as they say, no guts, no glory.

I have never gotten glue on my iron when elmering (as my friend calls it). I use a diluted glue--maybe 1/3 water to 2/3 glue. But it wasn't even a problem when I used all glue--diluting it just makes it flow easier. Does your glue go through the fabric? Maybe you're using too much glue?
When my iron plate does get gooey I clean it easily by rubbing it on a dryer sheet when the iron is hot.

Since I can no longer work on the floor, I bought a piece of plywood and cut it to fit my ironing board--a little longer and somewhat wider than the ironing board. I covered it with a fleece-lined picnic table cloth. I start in the middle and center my quilt. I smooth it out and glue it. Then move it and smooth and glue. When I have done the center of the quilt, I iron it, and then move to another section and repeat. This works for me. Sure saves the knees and the back.

I think that birthing a quilt sometimes becomes a breach birth with lots of problems and once you are done you are left totally pooped!

Has anyone seen Sharon Shamber's (I think that is her name, if I have the wrong name, please correct me). Anyway, this lady had a UTube video on how she bastes a quilt using 2 long pieces of boards to hold the quilt down. Of course, she is thread basting the quilt, however, I can see using this system to glue baste your quilt, too. She has it rolled up on the boards and you unroll the top and bottom of the quilt as you need it. This way you can sit at a table and not have to kneel on the floor. My knees can no longer do this kind of function and I was planning to try this method the next time I needed to baste a quilt. I'll see if I can find the website for this video.

Okay, this is the website:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyaLsMafElo

I am thinking that the same process would work for gluing your fabric and you can glue top and bottom at the same time. You can use your iron to dry the glue and go one from there.

There is one thing that I am not sure would work, however, and that is she says to starch your fabric two or three times so that it becomes flatter and easier to handle. Does anyone know if the glue would stick to a starched piece of material?

What do you all think about this method?

I glue baste on the ironing board......put the batting down then the glue the top and iron as I go then turn it over and glue the back...