Am I missing something?
 

I am finding that when I make a quilt sandwich to practice a quilting design, it looks pretty good. My stitches are even and I'm happy after some practice. But, when I start working on the quilt, my stitches are small and the quilting does not go as smoothly. I use Machingers gloves and have a small smooth slider (only 8 1/2 x 11) on my sewing machine. My machine has a pretty good neck size and I have plenty of space around the machine for my quilt to lie. I'm not understanding why this is happening and wonder if there is something else I can do to make my quilt look like my quilt sandwich? Thanks!

If I had to guess, it's the drag that is making the difference. Even with a supreme slider, it's alot to pull and push thru the neck. Since your stitches are small, it sounds like your machine is going fast but your hands are going slow. The best advice I have ever received is to listen to the thunk thunk thunk rhythm of the machine and move your hands at the same speed keeping time.

this was my first thought too.

The first time I took a free motion class drag was not mentioned-I too did well on practice squares. Rude awakening when I started to quilt a large piece!

There is a lot of weight to a larger quilt. Trying to reposition it to quilt it can be a challenge. Drag is a big concern. to over come some of the problem you may want to roll the quilt up with bicycle clips. This can manage the drag with a fair amount of success. Be patient you will get it.

Someone here had a great idea to practice on a large sheet and said
it was very rewarding.