After I finished piecing my son's quilt, who is a HUGE Tennessee Volunteers football fan....hence the orange and white, I'd told myself to practice, practice fmq and then jump in. Got cold feet this morning and decided to stitch in the ditch. That looked horrible so put on my big girl panties and went to work trying fmq. I am so excited now because NO LOOPS on the back and stitches aren't way off from being the same size. Still having some problems with starting when I've stopped and have those dreaded points but I'll get there. WOOHOO!!! Wanted to show a couple pictures and to say thanks to everyone who helped me. :-D :thumbup:

Good job!!!!

:thumbup:

Great job! Maybe you will inspire me to try it, too!

And guess what? Once it is done, you will be the only one that sees those points. :)

Very nice.

You go girl

looks good... I just put my big girl panties on last week! and did some......

(by the way the panties comment gave me a great laugh....)

You are off to a good start. Enjoy!!!

WAY TO GO!!!! Your doing great!!!

Go for it! The worst that will happen is you'll go through a lot of thread. :lol:

Thank you! Hope your fmq is looking good. The big girl panties comment seemed quite appropriate. :lol:

We are our own worst critics aren't we but made up my mind I'm going to have fun with it and the mistakes mean at least I'm trying. :thumbup:

Thanks everybody for your vote of confidence. Off to quilt some more. :-)

Nice job. I'm happy for you. Keep those big girl pants on and do more. Every time it will get easier.

Nice job. I'm happy for you. Keep those big girl pants on and do more. Every time it will get easier.

It looks good. Thanks for sharing. I'm also about to start my first FMQ on a top I recently finished. I'm scared, but it's the only way to learn.

very good!! slow and easy. it takes more time to do than you think it should because your foot pedal speed is going faster than you are, but it works. :thumbup:

Looks great!

It looks great! I made my own slider which really helps on the extension table! I am also new to this but love it...no more walking foot for this gal...it is too slow!

I just remembered I had a slider too so I've put it on the machine. Moving the quilt was a lot harder than I thought it would be so hopefully that will help.

Good job!

I'm really paying close attention to the sound of my machine to get just the right speed between foot and hands. Not only do you have to be a contortionist to do this but also a multi-tasker. LOL!!

Girl I was sweating bullets when the needle went down the first time. LOL!! Just go for it and have fun. :thumbup:

GREAT job! You are brave!

great first attempt!

Great job. I've been FMQing for 6 years and my stitches still aren't all the same size!

After talking hubby into me buying a new machine and the cabinet with the extension off the back I figured I'd better start using it. LOL!!

You know...that's what makes a handmade quilt special. Don't want it to look like it's come off an assembly line.

Bravo, you have inspired me to take the plunge.

Wonderful to look at....it will definitely be fun to cuddle with!! Nice job! :)

I applaud your bravery. I'm still a stitch-in-the-ditch girl. Don't know if I'll ever be bold enough to go beyond that. Love your color choices. Bet the entire quilt looks mighty fine. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah you put on your big girl panties... You did it. It will get easier. Im a beginner too. But having so much fun at it. I use stencels too. They sure are a big help. Good job.

That looks great! And you are soooo brave. I am still a weeny and havent tried it yet... You give me inspiration... now I am looking for my big girl panties... LOL

Looking good - congrats (I've yet to try it)

Put them on and get going!! :thumbup:

I have a football stencil I bought when I thought I'd be quilting this by hand. Did draw one on the quilt and tried it but didn't look so good. I'll attempt stencils when I can quilt a better straight line. LOL!!

There's no way I would have EVER tried this had it not been for this group. I asked loads of questions and everyone was so willing to help. You guys are the best. :thumbup:

Looking good! Keep up the good work.

You did a great job and were dressed for the occasion!