Most everyone that has fmq on vintage mechanical machines have a good experience. The 301 is the best I've ever used for it. It's just so limited in space. I am happy with my Brother 1500, all mechanical machine with wide throat space. I can do a great quilted feather but have trouble with round circles.

This is good news :) I will also stop trying to "tweak" the tension. :) I'll treat it like a decorative stitch then, and just make sure there's no evidence of the bottom thread on the top. Most, not all, but most of my sudden turns are me realising, or being told that the pillar of the machine will not move out of my way. That's definitely something I need to keep a better eye on.


Mastered is a strong word,... but I will stop "borrowing trouble" (as DH's grandpa used to say) then and just practice my butt off.

I watched a video from Patsy Thompson, she said that it almost required you to think "backwards"... you're moving the paper, not the pen. I just I'm just naturally "backwards". Boy that explains a lot, not just quilting either. :D

I put it off for so long, then when I started trying it and didn't have the problems I read about, I thought "I must be doing this wrong"... Thanks for the encouragement everyone!

I had wondered about the "selling products" angle. Strangely, I did do a lap quilt and used a cotton thread, and I didn't see/feel a difference while doing the FMQ. I used a 15-90 for that one, and if I compare to the work I was doing on the 301 last night, and for that matter, the work I did on the Pfaff 6122 right at the beginning, other than consistency, I can't see a difference in the stitching. Where would I notice problems with either the poly or the cotton? Tension? Snapping? I know that poly is more elastic than cotton...

Thanks DHM! I've never found straight lines to be easy (can't draw or cut one with a ruler, but I'm getting better), so the cutting/piecing part of quilting bordered on stressful. I guess I just figured it would all challenge me equally. :)

I had wondered if it had anything to do with the vintage machines. Does that have anything to do with the "auto" tensioning that a lot of the newer machines have, do you think? I was playing with the 301 last night, and realised an hour in that I'd forgotten to set the stitch length to 0 and lower the dogs. What a forgiving machine. I do agree with the throat space. I made a lot of weird angles by crashing into the pillar, and I had a much harder time using the "grips" than gloves because of the limited throat space.

I'll tell ya what, the bobbin washers for one thing don't seem to be necessary if you have a bobbin spring already in your metal bobbin case OR if you have plastic drop in bobbins. Backlash is when little unsightly loops form on the back side of your stitching - usually when using a metal bobbin in a metal bobbin case. Bobbin springs keep the bobbin from continuing to spin after you stop. I find I have more backlash issues on my long arm than any of my sewing machines...but that's the whole "bobbin washer" deal. I have a cheapo Walmart brother that I do beautiful heirloom quilting on and never an issue with backlash.

The more you do the more you'll become familiar with what to look for. Another thing that hangs some people up is thread. When you switch from polyester threads to cotton threads you generally need a different size needle and not everyone grasps what a HUGE difference a size 10 needle will make with a thin poly thread.

Sounds like you were fortunate to have a good combination of needle and thread off the bat and the stitching part comes naturally! :)

**Edited to add ** Another note on the bobbin washers. The looping and issues some of the "big name" quilters like Leah Day or Sharon Schamber have also come from using high speed machines. Sharon uses a Juki that stitches up to 5000 stitches per minute - that's faster than my APQS long arm. Backlash and sketchy tension seems to be more of an issue when you start stiching at high speeds like that.

For what it's worth! :) Have fun!!

Not everyone has issues when they first start. Sometimes they show up after a while with different materials or different fabrics.

I thought all bobbin cases had "springs".. the tension spring is what you're referring to, right? I haven't found one yet that was in good condition that didn't.... All of the machines I've been using are metal bobbins in metal bobbin cases, with tension springs...

I will use a different sized needle next then to see what happens. I've been using s 90 / 14 universal. I will have to look to see if I even have a size 10.

Considering that the first machine I ever tried this on (A 290C, self winding horizontal bobbin, aslant, - talk about stacking the deck against yourself - a couple of years ago) almost went out the window, it's more than a little surprising that this would be "natural". :)

OK,.. I didn't even think about the bigger machines. I saw tutorials with LD using a Bernina or a Janome or something and figured that was a common machine for her.

So I'm not necessarily out of the woods yet, is what you're saying? ;)

Frankls I don't get what you are asking. You say nothing bad is happening and you are getting better. So what is it?
I have no crystal ball that will tell you the future or warn you about something that aparantly isn't happening. I didn't even read all the replies since you said nothing is really wrong but you want to know what might go wrong if it ever does.

Enjoy your blessing. It's OK to be good at something.

Totally fair question. :) Why I was asking was twofold:

Do you ever get the feeling things are going too well? You're going along, figuring that things are OK, but have a nagging feeling you've forgotten something, or failed to see something, and it might be "big"? Otherwise known as waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The other thing is that FMQ is largely about creating muscle memory. I didn't want to train my brain and muscles wrong then have to break the habits. Better to catch them early.

I heard from a number of people and read on a lot of sites that FMQ wasn't necessarily for "beginners". I haven't completed my first quilt, and I've only made perhaps 3 (very small) quilted items total so far. I'm a "barely has begun" quilter at this stage. There was no reason to believe (I thought) that I would be able to do this without huge investments of time and practice at all. I expected needle shrapnel (it's a big part of my sewing history as it is), and loops and broken thread at the least. I thought there was a good chance I was overlooking a lot of smaller things just because the massive problems weren't happening.

Thanks PTF, that may well be exactly what it is. Sort of a consolation for the years of not being able to draw or cut a straight line... :) I'll take FMQ over the ability to draw a straight line any day.