The Arduous but Important Task of Basting Before Quilting

Golly I will miss these funky monkeys, but they sure were inspirational for the funky monkey bars quilt top. 

I did not want to lose any of the monkey fabric in the back, and so I sewed panels on either side of it for the scrappy back.  I used a half inch seam allowance (mostly!) in piecing the scraps leftover from the quilt top.  My Saturday morning was also spent pressing, starching and then taping this scrappy back to the floor (I've no table big enough and even had to push back my coffee table and couch to make room for the quilt).  And then pressing and layering the batting over it.  And then pressing and starching (and noticing the that the top is not square but hopefully fixable or trimmable after quilting)and layering the quilt top followed by pin basting the sandwich on my hands and knees which took at least an hour and a half.  I pin a lot when I sew and even more when I pin baste!