I have only machine basted/serged the edge of one quilt, and that was because my poor kitty got sick on it while I was in the middle of quilting it. I had to wash it, spot cleaning just would not do, so I ran the whole thing through the serger first to sort of seal it up. Worked out fine for the most part, although the edges did get a little wonky.

I only machine quilt on a domestic machine and appreciate the many suggestions. I pin-baste but might look into spray basting as well. Usually I make baby-sized quilts and the one big one, I hired a long-arm quilter, recommended by my fabric store. Next one will be quilted from the middle to compare how it works.

I have one book that has recommended machine basting the edge of my border sandwich but I'm not happy with the result since some of the sandwich became wonky so I'll leave out that step and my daughter, who taught me all the quilting I know, says she doesn't do that.

Noreen

I spray baste. Domestic sewing machine quilter--Viking Sapphire. I stitch in the ditch to anchor if needed. My lone star-- I started the feather spine in the outer edge of the diamond and stitched to the center and quilted out the feather. On one quilt, I quilted the border first after anchoring in the ditch. I heard someone say that it was easier to get the quilt thru the harp. That was an interesting experience. I do serge the edge of my quilt sandwich. It cuts down on the bulk. My table that my machine sits in is large--started out as a 4x8 sheet of melamine. However you DSM quilt, you need a surface to support the quilt. My largest has probably been 82x82. I have a 90x90 to do.

I spray baste. It holds every square inch and you don't have the added weight of pins or trying to take them out when you don't otherwise need to stop.
The very first quilting is ditching to anchor the borders and then any other long straight lines. You spend time getting it straight when you baste and I feel it is important to keep them straight before you go to the center and have more chance to distort them. Then I ditch any patchwork or applique with free motion. Then large motifs or quilting ending with the background fill. I very often start on an edge just because it is a little easier and I know I will be better and more practiced doing a design as I go along.
Ann

I always do it pretty much the same way, whether I am hand quilting or machine quilting. I baste like crazy - light spray baste to start and then thread baste for larger quilts in diagonals from the center out followed by a 4 inch grid over that (LOTS of basting, lol) When I hand quilt I always start in the center and work out in a spiral pattern. Machine quilting I roll the quilt in on both sides, leaving a center vertical row open for quilting. I quilt all I can in that open row, then unroll/roll a new section untill I reach one side, then reroll back to the center and work toward the other side. If I am doing a grid pattern I then turn the quilt 90 degrees and work the same way in the other direction.

Oh dear, as always, I don't seem to be quite relaxed about the whole process. I blame my lack of time and the little old domestic machine.

I spray baste small quilts and then machine sew some basic quilting lines first before progressing to the finer stuff.

Big quilts either go to a longarm quilter for quilting or for basting.

If I don't cut a few corners I'd never finish anything.

Lorchen

Again--depends on the quilt.
Hand quilting-- I start in the middle and work out
Machine quilting--if it is a medallion quilt I start in the middle and work out; if it is just done in rows--I go to the edge of the middle and do any in the ditch to anchor then more to the next row to the right until I get to the end and then reverse until it is all stitched in the ditch--then I go back and do any other quilting I want to do.
I spray baste.

Oh Keith, I try to do the icky bits first too!! Makes the rest so much more enjoyable! My Daughter always tried not doing them until last and things never became a finished article. Striking while the iron's hot I guess.

Sounds to me like you've got it all figured out!!

Short arm, domestic machine quilter here. Safety pin baste in a 4 inch grid: I don't know why - 20 year habits are hard to break... (And Harriet told me to do it this way.) But my old dog knees, hips and fingertips are starting to tell me I need to learn new tricks - either using tables instead of the floor, or spray basting, or having a LAMQ baste with water soluable thread.

I tend to quilt in phases (similar to Amoret and She-quilts), large, medium, or small machts nicht:

Anchor quilting - usually ditch or echo quilting around blocks, block elements, applique shapes, or border spacer strips.
Detail quilting - the feathers or flowers or fluer d'lis or celtic knots or whatever big designs I'm doing.
Filler quilting - the pebbles or echoing or stippling or grid quilting.[/list:u]
And I tend to do all the anchor quilting from the middle out, then the designs from the middle out, then the filler stuff from the middle out.

I do phases and then middle out within each phase because its easier for me to avoid distortion and puckers that way. And because the middle is a little harder for a domestic machine quilter and I want to get it out of the way. And because I tend to get new ideas while working on each phase. And because I can get a lot of the safety pins out pretty early in the process.

I think if I were doing some kind of all over design in rows, I still would do the middle row, then the one above it and then the one below it. Don't know why, just 'cuz it would feel right... ?? And I'd get the harder part out of the way first.

I think sometimes I make things harder for myself than they need to be... :shock:

Well my repertoire isn't huge as yet!... But:

Small walls - pin baste or tack gun and quilt as I see it needing it. (Anywhere!)

Large wall and laps - spray baste, quilt from centre out on the larger block edges then go back and quilt within these.

Larger bed - as above but add pins until the initial grid is done.

Mid arm dictates it's own on the Grace Pro frame (so side to side really) but I have used it to do a basic all over and then re mount it on the frame as a single piece and quilt more densely.

I guess when it come down to it, the quilt will tell you.

I machine quilt everything (!!) on my domestic machine. (Bernina 200, just had to include that b/c I love it! )

I lightly spray baste and then pin baste. I quilt in anchor lines from the center out. Any detail quilting I start in the center and work out. And if nothing else, it gets the hard part done first.

Joyce

I think it depends on the kind of quilting you are doing.
Hand quilting? Machine Quilting on a domestic sewing machine? Quilting on a long-arm quilting machine??

Is your project a small one, or a big ole king sized quilt?

Like Alex said, basting is the key. How to do it? Needle and thread? Pin Baste? Spray baste? Water soluable stitches?

Decisions, decisions.....

I, too, am looking forward to seeing what everyone prefers.

I work from one side to the other - my main thing is to use TONs of basting - I am looking forwadr to the answers to this