I am testing out the waters myself so to speak.... i just did my first pratice on a table runner. i had all kinds of hicups but i did enjoy the whole process. and will keep on praticing :)

You can do it.

Good advice...That being said, at the beginning of the year I joined the PileOFabric Skill Builder BOM. She teaches two blocks each month, using different skills and it is a QAYG, so we can practice FMQ on smaller projects each month. Well, I'm up-to-date on getting the blocks pieced, but still too scared to do the FMQ'ing!!

Thank you! I think I needed this.

I have found out that when the quilt is finished, the mistakes are almost impossible to find, except by you. :)

Joy, there are several Craftsy classes. Which one did you find so helpful?

Totally agree! The only way to get past the fear is to jump in. Whenever I'm afraid of a new experience, I think of the hundreds, thousands, or millions of people who have done that thing, whatever it is, and I think, "I have to be at least as good as some of them. So if they can do it, I can do it."

It's just fabric and thread! Relax and give it a try. Each session, I start with a practice sandwich so I can make sure the machine is running as it should. Practice hasn't made perfect yet, but you have to start somewhere!

Back in 2003 I started FMQ'ing on a short arm and just switched to a Bailey Pro17E. So...from what I have learned is that the more you do, the better you get. I started with practice sandwiches and just played with them...tried different threads, tensions, designs and so on. Once in a while I get out my current practice quilt to experiment or try different techniques even now. Yes, there have been times when I felt I could have done better. Yet, when I take the quilt off the frame, it looks darn good! My philosphy is that every quilt is a rehearsal for the next quilt :). Just do it as my first quilt teacher said, smile.

I love the "not as perfect as a programmed long arm" look of FMQ. It looks more like it was done by the human hand, like a hand drawing.