Originally Posted by Pat R
I would like to machine quilt. But it looks very daunting.
OK. There are different kinds of machine quilting. You can start out easy and work your way up.
In my experience, the easiest way to start machine quilting is to use a walking foot. Either sew straight lines with the walking foot (you can use blue painter's tape as a guide) or guide the fabric so you are making gently curving lines (a more modern look). You can even do cross-hatching this way. The advantage of using a walking foot is that the stitches will be even.
Meanwhile, you can practice free motion machine quilting on scraps. I made up 16" square sandwiches of cheap muslin and batting scraps to practice. For this you need a darning foot ("jumping" foot). Depending on your machine, you may be able to leave the feed dogs up and FMQ. Most people either lower the feed dogs or cover them up (a credit card or even index card with a hole punched in it for the needle can be taped over the feed dogs). Most people need to practice FMQ for quite awhile before they feel comfortable using it on an actual quilt.