Ok, I know everyone goes on and on about practice, practice and it is important but so is training your brain to be in that mindset. It really helps you be on track when you start quilting. I have an eraseable board and marker from the dollar store and just practice doodleing or any other design that I might do. My teacher is a great LA plus machine quilter and she's won awards for her work but still practices this method. She takes a paper and puts 12, 3, 6 and 9 on her paper like a clock top, bottom and sides and then it gives her a direction to go and helps her keep on track. Leah Day has a great website with lots of free help, Craftsy.com has lost of classes, some mini ones that are free and you can take them anytime and you never lose access once you sign up for them.

After all the practice and actually doing a lot of FMQ, I finally bought a pair of the gloves and that makes it a lot easier to move the quilt around. Buy the smallest size that you can get your hands into, as that keeps the gloves from moving around on your hands. I did most of my FMQ on individual blocks, and then graduated to strips of t shirt quilts. Faster speed on the machine helped me to do smoother curves with no jerking sideways, etc. HOpe you enjoy it as much as I do.

There are literally hundreds of great quilting tutorials on You Tube. That's where I finally learned how to do feathers, and I practiced on some placemats I made for my family. Good luck!

EXCELLENT ADVICE!!! My problem is adjusting the tension on my machine.

Gloves do make a difference, rather its the machine quilting ones or the gardening ones that are cheaper, or even rubber gloves. They allow you to move your fabric around easier and not grab the fabric which doesn't give a smooth stitch and it also makes your muscles more tense. My FMQ always looks better when I'm going faster which is what most teachers tell you as well. Make a bunch of squares of quilt fabric which is the 3 layers, top batting and backing so that you get a better feel and then practice away. You can then sew the blocks together for a throw or a dog bed or the kids to play with; no waste this way.

Your hands must move slower than your speed. Relax before doing FMQ or your tenseness will show in the quilting. I wear rubber tipped gloves, set top tension at 2, take pressure off the presser foot, use a table next to your machine table to help hold the quilt.

YES! leahday.com. She does pebbles as one of her 365 days designs. Also just about anything else you might want to learn.

CHECK OUT leahday.com. She will take you from easy to just about anything you might want to do.

Have a glass of wine before you start. it will help you to relax and stop worrying so much. Repeat dosage when your shoulders get tired. DON'T take the wine to your sewing space. {wine stains on fabric}

I took 2-3 classes on FMQ. They got me started but I have pretty much given up on it. Once in awhile on a charity quilt I will give it a try but not on anything that is significant. I know it is practice, but I don't feel like practicing. Thank God, I have a machine that does a tremendous amount of decorative stitching and that is what I do. Anything else, goes to the Longarmer!