Wrestling with an octopus...

[Lincoln hobbit]

I'm just (attempting) to quilt my first large quilt. Rolling sides in the approved manner (ish) but it's not easy.  Using walking foot purchased at FoQ so it looks alright I think? But I'm losing track of where I'm up to...

[Ploshkin]

I've only done a couple and nothing bigger than 60" x 60" @Lincoln hobbit  but it is definitely easier to just stuff rather than roll.  I also found I needed to think about how I was going to approach each bit so that I wasn't stuffing more than half the width through at any time. 

[rubywishes]

Another stuffer here Lincoln hobbit. I find rolling the quilt sides makes it very stiff and awkward to manage. The key is to take your time and just concentrate on one section at a time. Stop frequently to readjust and rearrange making sure there is absolutely no drag anywhere and you have support to the left and in front. And then, one day, suddenly, when you are in the depths of despair thinking you will never get the wretched thing finished you will stop, look and be amazed to find that you are quilting your last section! And in that joyous moment you'll start thinking about your next quilt!! Or contemplate taking up origami instead!:)

[Acorn]

I recently machine quilted my first large quilt (By The Sea).  I bought special plastic roll clips and arranged it all with the sides rolled and clipped ready to start in the middle. 



Nope.  Just nope.  The clips wouldn't fit through the harp space.  The stiff, rolled sides wanted to push me backwards off my chair.

Stuffing is the way to go.

[Lowena]

i always hand quilt....I just can't get on with a walking foot

[BrendaP]

Quilt As You Go.

[Efemera]

Another stuffer here... just finished a large one, it’s in the washer at the moment, I’ll post pictures when it’s done

[Iminei]

You think about rolling and might, just might roll the first couple of times .... but it'll soon descend into stuffing the blooming thing however you can through the harp ... or is that just me???

[Sheilago]

I stuff big quilts through too. I also make sure that all the clutter from my table is cleared and I polish the machine and sometimes the table with silicone to make it extra easy to push the quilt through.

[Efemera]

All done..

[Deafoldbat]

If you're doing long straight lines down the middle of the quilt, rolling will help a bit, but you have to roll it tight enough to fit through the machine and stop every few inches to coax it along. After a while you'll get bored with this and resort to  'jam and cram'.

[wrenkins]

HaHa @Deafoldbat I read that as jam and cream!  That made sense to me. 

[Renegade Sewist]

Rolling lasted about 2 minutes chez moi.  I stuff and swear. I only do throws. I mostly do stitch near the ditch because I don't like wrestling. Let me add my machine is a Brother SE400, which is sort of a 3/4 size machine and the harp? Ha. I'm considering one of the cheap Brother quilting machines as they have a pretty roomy harp so I could do more free motion. They come with all the quilting feet you could desire.  Four throws and it would pay for itself vs. having a long arm quilter do it for me.

[Lincoln hobbit]

Thank you all. I have to say the stuffing method is easier. Jam and cr(e)am is a good description and I had pretty much given up on the rolling before I wrote yesterday. I also read it with the added e and was looking for scones.  Nearly finished it yesterday. Just need to decide on a binding colour now and then it's done.