FMQ--whew!
 

I've been practicing my doodling and sat down to my machine today to practice. It might take me months to get the hang of this lol. I have 2 quilting feet for my baby lock and I can decide if I like either one. It seems to me that the needle should be in the middle of the open area but when I use my open toe foot, it sits to the left and I haven't figured out how to change that. Having the needle next to the edge of the foot makes it difficult for me to tell where I need to go. The other issue I have is consistency on the foot pedal. I find a nice rhythm then all of a sudden, I'm speeding. I adjust the speed on the machine then I feel like I'm too slow. Can't wait to get the hang of this!
I know I just need to practice practice practice but I'm an instant gratification type gal lol

If you haven't already, get yourself some good quilting gloves, like "Machingers." It sure makes a big difference.

You should be able to change the needle position. On a lot of machines, when you're on a straight stitch, the stitch width button is what changes the needle position. But it's hard to say without knowing more specifically what model your machine is.

Machine quilting is just like anything else... practice makes perfect. Just keep practicing.

I have a Baby Lock Melody. I've gone through the book that came with it with no luck. I have Fons and Porter gloves I'm not crazy about and have Machingers on order.

It definitely takes practice. I got a new/used machine and I have to figure it out. I am sort of proficient on my dinky mechanical Costco version Brother so I know I can do a simple meander which is all I ever wanted to do. Just keep practicing and you will get the feel of it.

Set your machine at a slower speed then floor it with the foot pedal. By doing this you have one less thing to concentrate on. You might need to adjust up or down to find a comfortable speed for you. I also agree with the others on quilting gloves. I've used both Fons & Porters and Machingers. I like the Machingers best. Another thing I found useful with my domestic machine is a Super Slider. Some have said they didn't stay put and were stitched into the quilt but I didn't have that problem. I'd rinse mine often to restore the stickiness.

I pulled up an image of your Melody's stitches. Looks like you can center the needle by going to stitch #2. That should move the needle bar to the right, but still be in straight stitch.

yeah I tried that but then it changes my stitch length and width back to the original settings... I'll keep working at it.

I have a Baby Lock Decorator's Choice and cn change the position of the needle without the machine changing stitch width or length. The directions should be in your instruction manual.

Cindy Needham refers to the perfect speed/hand-movement combo as the "hum-purr" and it takes a bit to find (or develop). Remember, first a newbie - then an apprentice, an with lots of hard work - a master. Just keep working at it.

Thanks MadQuilter, I know it's a process but I am so impatient lol. Gail B, I'll try it out again today.

What are you using for music to quilt to? Soft rock has the right tempo for me. I am in a mood to FMQ right now - I have a cupboard torn apart and 53 gifts to make or buy so I think I'd better let it pass for today. I do have a quilt that needs the borders quilted.

I have a cd player in my sewing room, I'll have to go through my cd's and find something relaxing. I took a class on fmq and the teacher seriously recommended a glass of wine if one was feeling too tense when sitting down to fmq. She said 1 was just enough to relax a person enough to quilt.

Beckyboo, it sounds like you're on your way...don't be hard on yourself and enjoy the ride. : )

That's a good reminder, thanks for the encouragement!