Originally Posted by Carmine
Thanks Elizabeth. Good advice. :-D Was able to play around with it last night. So much fun! BTW, I love your quilt you have posted. :-D
Thanks. It was a freebie paper-piecing pattern. If you search for American Beauty blocks, you will find lots of free patterns.
It's about 36" square and I quilted it all with straight lines and a walking foot.
I'm attaching a picture of a mini I did (18" square) using FMQ in the center block. You can't really see it, but it's a "flowing" type of motion I found searching for stencils.
I took a machine quilting class, and the teacher had a couple good brain trainers. (1) Doodle with paper and pencil when you can, especially before you go to your machine. This builds "muscle memory" and your hands will move smoother when you are quilting. Also, If you have a design you want to FMQ onto fabric, trace over it with your finger several times.
Also, she suggested that you practice on scraps (go back to the potholders) for at least 20 minutes before you start quilting your projects. It takes that long for you to loosen up and feel comfortable.