AboutConnie Hester Expertise Quilting and applique expert.Can advise on the following topics:quilting, art quilts, quilt design and construction, machine and hand quilting, paper foundation piecing, machine piecing, hand piecing, raw edge applique, turned-edge applique and fiber art.
Experience Winning awards in international fiber and art competitions since 1983; http://www.conniehester.com/
BS,MS
See my work and books at http://www.conniehester.com/
Expert: Connie Hester Date: 9/22/2007 Subject: lap quilting
Question Would you be able to explain the process of lap quilting. I have hand pieced four quilt tops over the summer and cannot afford a quilting frame. I know there is a way to quilt these tops without getting involved with a large piece of furniture that is cumbersome.
Answer In a nutshell, the 3 layers of the quilt "sandwich" are basted together. Basting lines should maintain a concentration with about every 1 1/2 - 2"-square area being covered over the entire quilt top, for adequate stability of the layers.
Beginning in the center of the quilt, baste lines outwards from the center in a "ray" configuration, all the way out to the raw edges. While you will begin in the center with the first series of rays, as you progress with subsequent basting lines, you will start ray lines farther away from the center, between previous basting lines, to maintain that 1 1/2 - 2" overall coverage.
The reason the basting begins in the center and "rays" out from the center is that you will begin your quilting in the center of the quilt as well. As you finish one area, you will move the lap-quilting frame or hoop outwards from the center. Through the quilting process, there can be some shifting of the layers. The "ray" configuration of basting lines helps the layers to shift ever so slightly without creating pleated fabric up against the basting stitches in the process.
