I used to be afraid of FMQ and looked for ways to avoid it and yet get some interesting things in my quilts. I drew designs on light weight paper that came on a roll that I got at an office supply store. I pinned it to the quilt and sewed slowly. It took lots of manipulation with keeping the needle down and lifting the presser foot frequently. It worked quite well but was labor intensive. I was determined to learn to do it FMQ-and I did!