Diane

Because I don't have a large table area on which to layer my quilt projects, I am very limited to quilt sizes that I can make. Does anyone out there have some suggestions pros and cons regarding the use of a fold down tennis table (ping pong). Much thanks...Diane :)

Minda

Hi Diane, I've never used a tennis table to lay out my quilt projects but I have used the floor. If you have a floor space large enough, you can tape the backing to the floor and then add the batting and quilt top to baste.

kathy

been there, done that, my knees and back will never forgive me!
I invested in two 8 ft. folding tables for about $80.00 each. They always come in handy when we have company over so I had 2 excuses to buy them. they aren't wide enough to do a whole quilt at once so I tape the part that fits and hang tablecloth weights on the sides to keep it taut will I layer. works very well

Diane

Thanks Kathy for your response. Sounds like a great idea and so....much better than getting down on my hand and knees. I'm getting to old for that. I'm new to this avenue of exchanging quilting idea and look forward to more.

Diane :P

kathy

I'm new to this kind of chat too and also enjoy it imensely

GeeGee

Hi Diane, I used to drag my quilts down to the basement to make use of the ping-pong table, it worked great, but my basement is a tad dreary, so I now use one 6 ft banquet table and pin starting in the center, then move the quilt to reach the other areas.

Diane

Hi Gee Gee,

Co-incidentally, I am also known to my three grandchildren as G.G. My son, lovingly says it sounds like a French "hooker", but I like it and no offense to all the French ladies out there. It stands for "Gramma and the first letter of my last name. My oldest grandchildren are 15 year old twin boys, so I've been G.G. for a long time now.

Thanks so very much for your input regarding the use of a ping pong table for layering large quilts. My concern now would be the portability of such a table. Would it be too heavy and cumbersome for me to carry out from storage? I gather it would fold in half with legs that would collapse underneath. Some thoughts from anyone out there?..... :P

Minda

Kathy, I love your idea of hanging weights on the quilt to keep it taut. That sounds soooo much better than the floor. I'm going to try it - I'm sure my knees will thank me. :wink:

GeeGee

Yes Diane, they're pretty heavy and awkward, mine just happens to be set up all the time. The table I use was pretty inexpensive (under $30.00 on sale), it's plastic and actually folds in half. It's kind of heavy, but not as heavy as the ping-pong table and stores pretty much anywhere. I keep mine behind the sofa. Below is a link so you can see what it looks like, but I paid much less. Wish I could remember where I bought it...maybe Wal-Mart.

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=3368500

My family has always called me Gee Gee, my 5yo grandson calls me Rara, I don't know where he came up with that name. He's beginning to call me Grandma and it makes me sad...it sounds so formal :( .

Leslee

The table tennis surface sounds ideal--so much better than the backaches and worse from basting on the floor! It reminds me of one horror story a friend new to quilting told me. She'd basted a full size quilt on the floor over a weekend. On Monday she was exhausted but proud of herself. "I don't know how you like doing this so much," she told me. "The basting part was bad enough, how will I survive quilting on the floor?" Seems she'd basted it to her berber carpeting.