Utter Newbie
 

Hi,

I have been sewing for years but have only just discovered quilting. Well, I can sew squares and shapes together but I have only just discovered free-hand and modern quilting.

I tried it today with my Pfaff 1548 and I SUCK!

Obviously, it takes practice and I will practice but I am really bad.

It seems like it's not slidey enough ... I guess I am trying to run before I can crawl ;-)

Any links, suggestions, advice very much appreciated.

(I have just bought Modern Quilting and Angela Watson's book - Tula Pink to arrive)

It takes a lot of practice to do FMQ on a domestic machine. The machine needs to go faster than you think and your hands need to go slower; I still basically suck at it. You here is a gadget called a Super Slider that makes it easier. And I think everyone finds it easier to go one way (right v left, up v down) than the other. Just keep trying. Leah Day has an amazing website on FMQ.

A warm welcome from North Central Washington! I purchased the Super Slide and a pair of gloves (from tips from Leah Day's site) and I still needs tons of practice since I am a newbie quilter, too.

Hi and welcome from NE Ohio.

Hi and welcome.

FMQ does not come overnight!!! It takes patience, and a LOT of practice.

Gloves with rubber tipped fingers help you grip the fabric to move it easier.

Use as flat a surface as possible - if your machine doesn't drop into a table, then purchase or make an extension so that you have at least 15" or so to the left of the machine.

Practice on small pieces - 9" or so - to get the feel of it, learn the moves, practice speed changes around curves - etc. Make dozens of practice sandwiches to get the "muscle memory" down for each FMQ pattern you try.

Relax when sewing - make sure your shoulders are relaxed and not hunched.

BREATH - I know it sounds dumb, but it's easy to hold your breath while FMQ'ing. Don't forget to breath.

Keep practicing!!!

Howdy and welcome, from Texas!

Doghousemom said it all. It takes lots of practice...I'm still working at it but it's getting better. Welcome from Pennsylvania.

Hello, welcome from Oklahoma!!! :)

Welcome from NE TX. Quilting is a journey not a skill....lol. Hang in there.

Hello and welcome from northern California!