Glue Basting

Day 339: I was hesitant at first, but being new to English paper piecing, I was willing to try a technique many more experienced quilters seemed to recommend: glue basting. After researching the internet extensively, I chose to go with the Sewline brand, and bought a package which included a pen and two refills, plus an extra package of six refills, having no idea how long a single stick of the water soluble glue would last. I knew it was going to be too much bother to glue each one-inch square in a 9-patch, so decided to thread-baste those, but on the other hand, the idea of glue-basting the larger pieces (the big hexagon and the triangles) suggested that I'd get a more uniform "stretch" of the fabric than I could effect with thread. As it turned out, the glue goes amazingly far. I'm only on my third refill and am just short of having half the quilt pieced, and I am very pleased with the method. Old dogs can learn new tricks when they're given the right incentives.