Thanks Rob...everyone is saying they puddle so I'm thinking I should continue to do that and then you come along and tell me rolling is better.

LOL! You guys are supposed to be helping me here. You know, not making me have to try both ways to figure out what's best for me. What's wrong with you? LOL! https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...es/biggrin.png

All kidding aside, I've tried what _I've_ been calling 'squashing the quilt around' (that is apparently called 'puddling') and was hoping someone would have an easier solution I could try. I can see the merits of both. So, I will try rolling next time to see if I prefer it to squashing / puddling.

mcadwell, I wish I still had my quilt clips, I would gladly send them to you - I'm always sorry after I do a major purge! :(

That said, I *do* sometimes roll up the quilt to put on borders or binding. I don't use anything to hold it, I just throw the roll over my shoulder and let it feed onto the big table behind my machine. I cover the table with a plastic shower curtain so it will just slide along.

The bulk of the quilt is to the left of the needle and you only need a quarter inch of space to the right of it. ;) No struggling at all with edge work.:)

Thepolyparrot - that is so kind of you! I appreciate the thought of the quilt clips.

Organization purges are horrid! As soon as sewing people do a purge it becomes this:“Oh, I have fabric that would be PERFECT for that project!” Goes hunting for said fabric, doesn’t find it, looks all over for it again (including places in their stash areas they’ve already looked for it twice), starts to get aggravated because they just KNOW they have the perfect fabric and it’s here somewhere…

…only to realize they just got rid of it.

ARGHHH!!! Death to organizational purges!

And promptly goes online to hunt for another perfect fabric because they must do that project.

(Don’t ask me how I know this.)

We are kindred spirits, for sure. :D I have done that with books and magazines, too. I'll vaguely remember a certain pattern in one of my books and turn my shelves upside down looking for it... and then I realize that it was probably in the last box I took to a charity shop or gave away.

At least with this last purge of the bookshelves, I looked through each one and put a post-it note in the top of any that I might like to do and the rest could go safely off to their new homes. I was surprised at how few actually contained patterns that interest me, any more. Out of a couple hundred magazines, I think I may have kept 12, at the most. Strange, huh?

I don't find it strange at all. Tastes change. And what you thought was interesting when you first got the magazine was probably a new technigue or pattern that you've since done so you now knowr agout it and don't feel the need to keep the magazine.

I do the same thing with online free patterns. I accumulate them and purge them on occasion because what I used to think was hard and intriguing wasn't so hard and I've done it so no longer need that pattern anymore because I've advanced. Same for doing new techniques or I no longer like the fabric, etc.

So, not strange at all.

like Tartan and several others, I puddle.

Ryder- I just ordered the clips from Amazon. Do you not use them when actually doing the quilting?

What does “puddle” mean? Ever heard that term before.

It's the act of pushing and adjusting the quilt so the section you're sewing lays flat under the needle area but is bunched up everywhere else.

In a previous post in this conversation I called it 'squashing the quilt around' because, being newer to quilting, I didn't know 'puddling' was the term used for this but instantly recognized it for what it was when I read it.

After going back and reading everyone’s replies, I have figured out what puddling means. Think I may give it a try. I was thinking about using the clips to roll the quilt then place it under the throat plate, but that may turn out to be too much trouble. Will give it a try and see what happens.