I Played at FMQ Today
 

I made two "quilts" of about 12 inches square with as close to solid fabric as I have. Then using a thread that was much darker, I just fiddled around attempting to make the stitches even. My goodness....I applaud anyone who can do that. I kept telling myself I will probably never use it on a real quilt. I just wanted to see how bad it would be. Not too bad, but gee what happens if you are in the middle of one and the phone rings? I did not do too badly when I could just go, but anywhere I stopped and started up again is pretty clear. Oh well, I was just playing.

Good for you! I'm just starting to venture into FMQ, too, and it's pretty daunting, but I WILL PREVAIL! I just need to get back to the practice mat...

Got a pic of your playtime?

Gee Teeler, are you SURE you want to see this? lol

Getting the stitches close to the same size takes lots of practice. Being relaxed helps too. Like anything else, somedays are better than others. Once the quilt is washed and dried, the stitches aren't as noticeable. We are our worst critics.

I want to see! I tried my first FMQ yesterday. The back was horrible but I'll get it right one day.

Ummm, if the phone rings or kid yells at you, you get a weird jerky spot in your FMQ. I speak from experience.

I did not have a particular pattern in mind. I just went all over. Back and forth to see if the stitches would be pretty much the same size. It almost looks like one of those puzzles kids play to see if they can get through the maze. I did take a couple of pics of it, if you REALLY want to see.........

I want to see! I am hoping to make my first practice attempts this weekend. I found some old poly/cotton yards in my stash and I figured they would make a good practice sandwich for my first tries. I want to see what to expect (or aim for!) I know it takes a long time and a lot of practice to even get close to some of the beautiful machine quilting I have seen!

I have found slowing the speed down makes a big difference. When I first started FMQ in December 2012 I lowered my feeddogs and put the stitch length to zero. I have found though that keeping the feeddogs up gives me more control. I also found keeping the stitch length at the normal size helps prevent those kind of jerky, uneven rounded edges.