A couple of 'hints' come to mind.
First, make sure you have the top, batting and backing securely together (and smooth) to start with. Use a basting spray (a brand called 505 Basting Spray is a good one) to 'hold' the layers together.
In addition to using basting spray, pinning will also keep your layers from shifting - I try to keep my pins about 10 -12 inches apart and it seems to work for me.
Now, for the issue of getting the quilt into your machine....
Just remember you do NOT have to have the entire thing in the machine at once. Think of your quilt in 'quarters'. Work from the middle out, all the while heading for the corner. Do one quarter at a time.
Roll the quilt from the edges of the section you are going to work on, toward the center of the quilt. You can unroll as you need to in order to get to the section you are going to quilt.
Happy Quilting!
Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
