Originally Posted by meemersmom
You really will get the hang of it. Just keep at it. My first practice piece started out a disaster, but ended up kinda okay. I could definitely tell where I started and where I finished...LOL!! Next couple of pieces went great. Now, I'm trying to FMQ (just stipple) a queen sized quilt, and I have been thru 4 pkgs of needles -- I keep breaking them, and I can figure out why. Have rethreaded, changed needles, checked/adjusted tension, quilt not caught on anything, etc (I even tried another machine!!!). The needle keeps hitting the throat plate and breaking. So, I put it away for now, and will try again another day.
That happens to me sometimes. Less now than it used to. I was told I was probably moving the quilt around too fast. Try slowing the hand movement down a bit. Hope it helps!