FMQ question
 

I have watched videos on YouTube and tried my hand on sandwich squares by fmq.. But I noticed the bigger the sandwich the more awkward it was for me to figure out where to go (direction wise) and how to maneuver the quilt sandwich itself. I an scared to try an actual quilt because I don't want to ruin it. Does anyone have a link that shows someone meandering fmq and using something bigger than a table mat so that I know what it looks like and how to move my quilt?

Hi there, I think a good way to practice is doodling with pencil and paper. It is the hand/eye coordination that needs to be developed, at least it was for me.

JulieM

You might want to check Leah Day' s, free motion quilting project. She has a quilt along on th e site also, where she shows how to pin baste and deal with a larger quilt.
We don' t start out doing the great job she does, it takes lots of practice.

In reality, when you FMQ on anything, from a placemat to a king, you are actually only going to be working on a 'table mat' section at a time. The whole quilt is there, but you can only work on a small section. Position the quilt in your machine and so that the weight is supported by tables. Pick out an 8 or 9 inch square area you want to work on. Now puddle (nest? scrunch?) up some of the quilt around this area so you can move the square freely. Quilt this square and stop at the edge of the area. Stop, readjust the quilt so the adjacent area can move freely and do this section. don't know if this helps.

Exactly! I think it was in a Leah Day video where I first heard to focus on one small area at a time so you don't get lost. It works for me!

What do they call quilting that uses the old stencil patterns then? Don't you FMQ those? Who works with those?

I don't care for the all-over bit. Right now I have some strips that I might like to do a couple of ovals on, then straight stitch some others. I'd like a site that shows that method. I've got some books - Leah Day does have some decent practice techniques, but I don't like the finished style. I'm playing with that quilt sampler, and I simply don't see the fills she is using. My vision for the blocks is totally different.

I guess I want a tutorial about mock hand quilting, FMQ style. I want to highlight the fabric and color, not machine skills in particular. I think the mock, using patterns would require finer control.

This was the way I learned control and still will doodle if I want to try something different.

For a start, it may help if u grab some quilt stencils and trace the designs onto them before doing FMQ. Or u could print out some simple designs on paper and quilt on it, just for practice. Meandering or stippling is a good design to start with. I'm a beginner to FMQ too and still struggling with it! But the more I practice, the more I feel at ease with FMQ. I think the first hurdle is to overcome the fear and just do it! Good luck! :)

I'm in the same boat but I belong to the DQ swap and I practice on all of those..Everyone is understanding in that swap if it doesn't turn out so well.