Originally Posted by
larkitecht
Thanks for your advice, everyone! I think y'all are right about it being drag from the quilt. I'm lifting it up more and making sure it's level with the presser foot and that has been helping. It's probably just a matter of me needing to get used to something new. :P I think adjusting the presser foot pressure would help a little too, but alas my machine doesn't have that option.
My quilting so far isn't as lovely and neat as everything I see on here, but practice practice practice! Like my FIL says, if I end up with a quilt at the end on a first attempt, I'm doing pretty good...
You know lots of people only post pictures of our proudest quilting, right? I have pictures of the first quilt I quilted, but only from a distance in bad lighting. Closeups wouldn't have helped with anything. Don't compare your first quilt to things people were willing to show the world on the internet! It will turn out fine.
Your FIL has the right attitude. It reminds me of a line from a comedy show I heard about pilots: A good landing is one where everyone walks away. A great landing is one where they can reuse the plane! I don't want a real pilot to have that attitude, but I repeat it to myself when I'm getting upset with my quilting. As long as I have fun and can reuse my sewing machine when it's done, I count it as a victory.