Practice, practice, practice. I've often told so many people that I just can't believe the learning curve on this technique. I took a class and it seemed we were learning to doodle. So I started meandering and I meandered everything because I felt I could almost get that done. Once I got tired of that stitch, I started looking at you-tube videos, bought a couple of books and I just keep trying. It was a real struggle on a domestic machine even though it had an 11" throat space. I bought a sit down longarm and felt I did better on that machine. I'm still learning and its been over 5 years! There is a definite difference between my first table topper which I still use and my last quilt that I gave away and was pretty proud of how that turned out. I'm so determined to make my quilts - my quilts that I'm sticking with it. Also, I found making lap quilts great practice. It seemed small pieces just didn't let me get in enough practice. People that don't quilt or sew don't even know my FMQ isn't up to par and they are happy to get their quilts.