Originally Posted by
Stitchnripper
Agree with Jingle. Also, I learned to FMQ on a dinky mechanical Brother machine from Costco. It was definitely doable. You are only quilting what's under the needle so there is a lot of rearranging. I tried rolling which was not easy, and then I learned to puddle which is better. I finally upgraded to a Brother PQ1500 which isn't all that expensive in the scheme of things. I recently did a queen sized which was not hard. I started in the middle and rotated the quilt clockwise and there kept getting less and less under the arm of the machine. Also on the dinky machine I always started in the middle and worked out and then it got easier as I progressed.
Yes, that's the way I have been doing it. Since you have the Brother PQ 1500 machine, let me ask you a question if you don't mind. The price on those is very appealing right now on Amazon ($539) and I have been tempted, but what it doesn't have that the Juki has is speed control. I have a real pedal problem, as I have bad neropothy in my legs (due to chemo), which makes my feet numb (very little feeling), so I thought the speed control on the Juki would be helpful, especially in light of how fast these machines can go, compared to the one I'm used to using. When using a quilting foot in FMQ, how difficult do you find it to control the speed on the 1500?
For those who mentioned to me, it would probably be cheaper to send the tops out. I know your right (especially if I purchased a more expensive machine), but the thing is, I find I really enjoy the free motion quilting. I'm still lousy at it, but I'm getting better, and that makes me happy.
Lets face it. There is nothing practical about quilting these days . People don't do it to save money by using sacks or old clothes for their bedding. Quite the contrary. It is a very expensive hobby. There is something very appealing about quilts, and I enjoy making something I think is pretty.
And like the song, " a girls just gotta have some fun".
q