juliasb

Congratulation on this first attempt at FMQ. It takes time and practice. You started with something difficult and did a great job. A meandering stitch may be easier to manage. Also you may want to try stencil along the way. Great designs are available and easy to transfer and follow.

Watson

Good job!
I find with curves I do better if I use my whole upper body a bit rather than just trying to do it from my hands/elbows, but may be just me. Give it a try, though. I would suggest that if you are going to work on circles you try smaller ones, at first. Big circles are hard to get round and can be frustrating.
FMQ takes a while, but it comes with practice. Some instructors say to pic one motif and practice it until you can do it in your sleep and then move on. That was my approach and it has worked out OK. I chose Paisley's and I would do an entire fat quarter practice piece worth of paisleys at a time. I would draw them, too. (I quilt a lot better than I draw.)
Keep going and posting your practice stuff.
Watson

oksewglad

Lots of good advice!
Your blocks are so pretty...especially like the first one. Good for you for keeping at it! Keep these practices as a reminder as how far you have come. As to flipping seams, I like to lightly spritz with water and press with a dry iron, place a pressing block
(aka clapper) on top of the seam and let it cool. I like a wool mat underneath as well.

I'm like Barb in LA...still have hard time with the pantos on my LA, but I have found them to be very forgiving when you look at the finished project.

amethyst

CaleyH, I enjoy seeing your pictures. I am brand new, really brand new to FMQ myself. It's exciting to learn something new that has the potential to be beautiful, if I practice enough. For my very first attempts I didn't even use practice blocks - I just used scrap material with some batting. I tried lots of different stitches - meander, loops, circles, feathers - I definitely developed favorites quickly. I eventually moved on to practice blocks. Then during the pandemic I just sewed some plain blocks together into a twin sized quilt and made each block a different stitch (repeating about 6 or 7 different stitches). It's not my favorite quilt, but it was good practice!

Here's a pic of my very first attempts



Have fun!

amethyst

BTW, I found circles the most frustrating, and really haven't done them at all since my initial attempts.

CaleyH

Amethyst, Welcome to quilting. As I have mentioned before, I am about six months or so into my own adventure into quilting. I've always found photos are helpful. I'm so happy we have the internet, and so many people who share their experiences through writing or photos. I try to do the same with whatever I happen to be doing

Your quilting is wonderful. You must have a steadier hand than I do. Your details are very well proportioned.

I've found that if I try to just move the quilt to try making some design, I just don't seem to be able to control things. I think it is much like my inability to transfer the music in my head to a keyboard, or to my Zither or Hammered Dulcimer. I just cannot get what's in my head to my hands. So I draw what I want on the quilt top, then I can easily move the quilt along those lines to do my quilting.

I'm going to try doing some wavy lines on my next block. Will have to cut a template so that I can trace those lines. I've plenty of fairly thick plastic I have left over from my bathroom tub surround renovation. I am using that to create my templates.

CaleyH

This is #3 for Quilting. This is called wavy lines. It is my first true attempt at using a darning foot, doing actual FMQing. I did draw the wavy lines, but as this was the real first try at controlling not only the foot pedal, but trying to keep a steady movement of the fabric, it isn't a pretty curve. They are somewhat jagged as I wandered off of my lines. And I didn't space the curved lines properly.

Overall, I guess it's fair for a first true FMQing try

I used a reddish thread, front and back because the majority of the colour is in the reddish range on either side. It shows well enough for you who wish to critique my attempt.

Stitchnripper

Not a critique. An observation - FMQ takes a lot of practice. I don’t know of anyone who got it right on their first or second try. You might try some practice pieces that are not real blocks and just cruise around in all directions and get used to it with no pressure except to practice.

JanieW

This is a great suggestion. When I was practicing I used pieces of felt. I also think that if you doodle the motif that you want to stitch out it will help you develop muscle memory. I use any flyers, newspapers and a sharpie and doodle designs when I’m stuck on the phone with my chatty sister. I really does help when you go todo the motif with your machine.

CaleyH

I've a lot of Muslin. Don't know why I purchased so much, but I guess I could use that, for a front and back. Just don't know what I can use for the middle. Or does it matter if I have a middle when practising?