Originally Posted by true4uca
I made a quilt sandwich and tried hand quilting. How hard can it be, right. First I drew some lines & circles, Tried burying the knot, that's over rated, so skip that. LOL. First tried stab stiching the lines. I'd never pass a sobrity test. Next the circles, this time I tried 3 stiches on needle, looked pretty good. Then I turned it over, only one stich was on the back. My miserable attempt at fmq now seems so much better. GRIN.
OK. Foget trying to draw lines and circles. Get some 1/8" or 1/16" inch gingham check to practice on. Make big stitches to begin with - 3 squares long and hen as you get comfortable move to 2 squares and then 1. Bury that knot. It is not overrated. Small knot in thread. Put needle in about 1/2" away from where you want to start quilting. pop the knot into the backing.....And did I say practice with dark thread so you can see your stitches.
Don't try to quilt like mother or grandmother. Do one stitch at the time. Make sure the stitch penetrates into the back. Don't worry the length of the stithes. Make them consistent and penetrating consistently into the back. Don't try or worry about the stitches being the same size on the back as the front just so they come thru.
Practice until you get a rhythm. And then always do a few practice stitches on a small piece before you start quilting the real quilt. You need to get into the groove of motion and rhythm first.