Great idea! Your meandering is terrific! :)

It is a water soluble thread. It is basically a temporary basting that doesn't need to be unsewn. I bought mine on Amazon, but they have it at my LQS as well. I've used it in the top & bobbin both, but I've been reading tips from different quilters who have suggested only using it in the top, with cotton in the bobbin -- or only using it in the bobbin with cotton on top. I would think it makes more sense to use it on top because that's the thread that would cut with my seam ripper & then would pull out one long thread on the back, but that's just a guess on my part. I plan to experiment before starting my next client quilt. It would be great if I only need to buy half as much of the stuff because it's quite a bit more expensive than cotton thread.

http://www.amazon.com/YLI-Corporatio...sh+away+thread

Here's some info from Leah Day on water soluble threads:
http://leahday.com/products/water-soluble-thread

Great idea! Now I can attempt FMQ! Thank you!

Great idea with great results. Thanks for the tip.

A great tip for FMQ on your domestic machine. Believe it or not, the very first quilt that I quilted on my domestic sewing machine was king size; and I quilted feathered wreaths in about 6 or 7, can't remember, but they were set around 4 pieced basket blocks in the middle, all blocks were set on the diagonal. I learned so much making that quilt, and I knew very little about machine quilting, or even quilting for that matter, as I basically was self taught. After that quilt I did take a class in machine quilting. That was about 25+ years ago. I learned a lot of various crafts, but quilting is the one thing that sustains me, helps me through tough times and last year because of medical issues and a shoulder replacement, I didn't get to do a lot of quilting and I was not a happy camper, in fact I was a grumpy camper. I will always quilt until I can quilt no more.

I like your method of meander quilting......very nice job....next time i attempt meander i will use that method.
I also like what ...jingle said about using large pins for basting instead of the quilting pins.....maybe that's why i hate to use them. I have a terrible time with them. Myself i find it easier to just use long wavy-squiggly lines. I can't seem to sew i straight line so the squiggly lines work for me...........

Donita

I personally think whatever works for the individual person works, period. I think your idea is great.........almost sets out the pattern for you to follow. How clever is that ???

What a great way to express yourself. I like the idea. Copied comments/pictures into a MS Word document and plan to store it with other might-do ideas. Thanks for the tip. God bless you, and may this year be filled with blessings beyond all measure.

What a great idea--just need to place the pins far enough away from each other to go around.

I don't know the exact title but it is thread that washes away--soluble thread--it sews like any thread and is great for basting. I'm not sure if JoAnn's carries it but you might ask--I buy it at quilt shops. You might google JoAnn's to see if they have it.