Oh my...what a concept....very cool! What machine do you use? If I turned my 301 sideways, yes the front of the needle would be towards me (some of my other machines thread front to back).However, I have it in a cabinet that has 2 folding panels when open, 1 on each side. The side that I would be sewing against is the smaller of the 2, so it may be managable I think. I am short & absolutely need my machine in a cabinet, situated flush. Out of the cabinet & on a standard height table it's just too high & for sure not comfortable for FMQ.

I love & appreciate all the advice. I will for sure be chewing some gum!

I am currently enrolled in a machine quilting class (8 sessions) and we are sort of following along in the Machine Quilting made Easy book. Even the tie-on and tie-off process was totally new to me and I am very much looking forward to learning more.

http://www.amazon.com/Machine-Quilti...5716186&sr=1-2

There is a teflon mat called a "supreme slider" that I use when FMQ on my domestic machine. It reduces the friction of the quilt on the sewing machine bed. Now I won't quilt without it - it makes that much difference.
I pin baste. That way I can adjust it a bit if one layer pulls in more than the other. With regular basting, I don't have that flexibility. I don't use basting spray.
Good luck with your quilting!

I use the teflon Supreme Slider and it really does make a difference in helping the quilt slide. Make sure you have plenty of table space to the left and to the back of your machine to take the weight of your quilt. Any time the weight of the quilt is dragging it down, your quilting will suffer.

I use safety pins and don't baste. If you're doing a fairly large quilting pattern, you can quilt around the pins without having to remove them. I've done a meandering pattern and just made a loop around the pins. I've done SID and made sure to put the pins in places that I knew I wouldn't be quilting. Not removing the pins saves a lot of time, but you have to be sure to stay well back from the pins so they don't catch on your darning foot.

Good luck!