marking the big top

I spent a few hours yesterday marking Beyond the Cherry Trees.  Here are a few photos from that experience ---

The first thing I did was find the boards to my floor frame.  (I admit I've never actually used the frame to quilt but I still have the parts.)  I basted the edge of the top on the long side of the table to the muslin on the board.  Ignore the table.  This is a work table and looks like it.  I do pottery, cast porcelain, paint, lay out patterns, and do anything else here that needs a large space.  Before the fabric touched the table, I used my Shop Vac to be sure it was clean.

Then I rolled the top around the board.  

Next, I spread out as much of the quilt as I could from the center.  The edge hung off the table till this part was marked.  I marked the quadrant lines in both directions, the length of the table first and then from the center to the edge of one side.  For the quilting lines I plan to do, this was an important step.  I repeated the middle line on the other half when I marked it.  Because half the quilt is wider than the table, I marked as much as I could from the center out, rolled more of the quilt onto the board, and then marked the remaining part of the side.

Half done.  Then I attached another quilt frame board to the long edge I'd just finished marking and repeated the process.

Finished!  

The few inches under the muslin on the first side will be marked when I baste the quilt.  There's probably not more than 2 or 3 inches left and won't be at all hard to do.