I have done some FMQ and am getting better every time I do it but it has been a frustratingly difficult journey. I learned on a different thread to turn my machine with the right side to the back and I really like it. I feel like I have more control and more room for the quilt.

I just finished a practice block. I've done a little meandering on a poster quilt I did a few months ago. But this is the first time I tried different shapes etc. Not great, need lots more practice, I use a darning foot, but I love doing it! I find it so soothing..........

Beautiful Job!

I think that they are great! I wouldn't even post mine! Just still practicing!!

no way!!! pretty cool! My dentist is in Snellville :P

wow, those practice blocks are amazing. I am still trying to master FMQ and I am fascinated by it. I can do meandering pretty well, but when I mark a quilt with a design somehow I get flummoxed and can't follow the design very well. I am sure I need much more practice, but, am not giving up.

My next step is to mark a quilt and follow it. I just wanted to get a feel for my machine and how to move stuff around.
I also just bought a sewing table to put my machine on, and everything is level now. What a huge difference it makes!

I'm looking for a beginner pattern for FMQ...can anyone suggest one? Easier the better as this is my first time doing it LOL

Kwilt Krazy your doing some nice work! Wish mine looked that good. I've done some and even though they don't look so great I've enjoyed the process so I'll keep on with it & maybe someday I'll be proud of them!

I've had some pretty good luck with tracing patterns on exam table paper I got from a drs office. Then I lay the paper down with spray adhesive and stitch on the lines. I quess it feels a little like cheating but till I can do FM that looks decent I can count on these. I use the books "Quilting Dot to Dot by Cheryl Barnes and Machine Freehand Patterns by Nan Moore.

thank you for the link. Tommye

MarthaVA--like your stitching!

I had created this link for us earlier today and shows how to make a baby bib thought it would be good for a beginner project to quilt on

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-49863-1.htm

found this video

http://www.hgtv.com/videos/freemotio...sics/9605.html

another link

http://haendi.wordpress.com/free-motion-quilting/

I want so much to learn this. All paterns appreciated

Grammy,

Don't begin on a quilt! Make several smaller (15 x 15" is a good size - just use the fabric and batting leftovers you have on hand) and practice, practice, practice. I love FM - the freedom of it is intoxicating, truly.

Awesome -- you've really inspired me! I just began doing SITD last night for the first time (had to get my courage up - I have 4 quilt tops waiting!) and I have to say, watching some of the tutorials on http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/ makes FMQ seem like so much fun. Can't wait to try those techniques!! :-) So glad you shared your samples.

Thanks for all the sites! I enjoy FMQ, and I still have to practice, practice, practice. One thing I do struggle with is figuring out what design to put on a quilt. I have recently started making potholders and practicing on them with Leah Day's quilting. I finally learned to calm down and go slow. And of course, no caffeine if I sew in the mornings!!!

I took a class but I'm afraid to get started! I see so many examples on this site alone, I'm intimidated. I guess I just have to take the plunge and be patient with my learning curve.

Hello to all who have had their BSRs for six months or more.

Bernina has put out new software for the BSR and has suggested replacing a spring in the BSR foot with a stronger one. The dealers don't charge much, and the spring is really inexpensive. I took my BSR in with my machine when I had it serviced and had the update done on the BSR at the same time.

The update makes the BSR work even better than it already does! It's well worth your time and money.

Thanks for the link; I'm going to try free motion quilting; wasn't sure where to start. You're always so helpful!

Long story: I've done it satisfactorily off and on for a several years, but it's been a long while since I've done any serious FMQ. I had a 12' frame up with a Janome 1600DPX on it, but had to dismantle it when my son moved back home, so he could have his space back. I have recently set the Janome 1600 on a table in another room and snugged thick styrofoam all around it (covered with a sheet of vinyl), so it is now ready for oiling and practice. I bought a book called, "Free-Motion Quilting Made Easy" by Eva A. Larkin, in which there are '186 designs from 8 simple shapes'. My goal is to learn to free motion quilt precisely; I want the stitches to be exactly the right length and where they should be, so I will feel confident that I won't make a mess when I sit at my machine to get some of my quilt-top backlog quilted. She (Eva) says it's quite possible on an ordinary machine to achieve this goal; practice is the key. We shall see! She has pictures of her work in the book and it is so fine!

Thanks for sharing..... :lol:

Who doesn't love it. However how many can do it. I have taken classes, studied bookes, looked up everything on computer. They all say practice. I do. This is the key point. They say it is the same as drawing on paper except it is fabric. I have determined that if you can't draw on paper how can you draw on fabric. I can't even draw stick people. I tired to follow a pattern and that is even harder. So I will just hope I can do a decent meandering.

Thanks for the link for free pattern ideas, looking at the leaves and flowers gave me an idea for a pattern that would match my Flying Geese UFO symbolically + filling in between the geese - a pattern from illustrations of wild rice!! Am thrilled to have this idea, it is an extra tardy UFO deserving attention.

Thanks for the tins for little scraps idea too - I suppose we could also use cardboard tea boxes until the tin collection comes up to scratch.

I can see this board is going to be a lot of fun and very helpful!!

Maurene

I too want to learn to FMQ. Yesterday I looked at the free video at Sharon Schamber web site (FMQ 101) and she uses a quilting "halo" that makes it so much easier to control the fabric. Her videos are fantastic because she goes slowly and is very easy to understand. You don't have to pay a thing to see many of her videos (just a login name) and she's the best I've seen so far. I wonder why none of the other teachers don't use her halo method?

Oh, by the way I got her name from someone on the Quilting Forum. This is the best site for quilting etc., on the internet!!

thanks for the update. I'll call my dealer. I am trying to practice on a baby quilt that I made from scraps. I want to get use to having some "extra" fabric to move around. Sometimes it works great and then other times...opps. :oops:

Thanks for the BSR update, I'll get the new spring - have barely used the old one so will experiment first.

Maurene

I've tried but I cannot get the smooth rounded look on my free motion---I tend to make them pointed and cross over.

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but a very good way to practice is to practice drawing. I draw on the cheap drawing pads, and a white board is really good to practrice on. It helps you brain learn the shapes and movements that you want to do.

I do it, but I'm not sure I really enjoy it. It gets to be a bit of a pain working on the larger quilts, but once I get going I just focus on getting it done...bit by bit by bit. :mrgreen:

As luck would have it, my BSR has a loose connection and it's under warranty! I'm getting the new one for free. I hardly ever get to take advantage of a warranty. And, better yet, the store where I bought my machine is no longer a Bernina authorized dealer. Since I've been really unhappy with their customer service, this is a good thing because I got the warranty transferred to a store I much prefer. Things never work out like that for me, so I'm a pretty happy camper.

For smaller projects I have used the spray adhesive to sandwich the quilt and it worked well to eliminate the puckers on the back.

I like doing stipple or meander with free motion. I'm learning to do patterns and it is very hard. But, I am enjoying it.

Once you take that first step, remind yourself to relax so the fabric can move :) it is great fun. Mine still isn't perfect but "oh well". Each one gets better---now to master feathers!!

My favorite quilting style! Doesn't take too much concentration.

I bought a FAB U MOTION for free motion quilting you put your material on this plate & you move the plate not your material it is great.

I have been free motion quilting on a domestic machine (first bernina now viking) for many years. I was taught by Debra Wagner, whose name does not pop up that regularly now, but she does write and she was a very good teacher. (A master quilter, she won many first place ribbons in large shows early on).
Aside from practicing stippling and other shapes, she had us start by quilting our names in free motion. You are very familiar with signing your name, so the memory is in your hands. Just take that to the machine. Try writing it on a fabric sandwich first, then go on to trying it without writing it and going straight to stitching.
Practicing on "cheater cloth" such as pre-printed panels, pillow panels, etc, which are sandwiched with batting is a great practice tool. if they come out well, bind them off and donate to charity.
Another favorite tool of mine is the skillbuilder panels by Renae Allen. There is a book which goes with the panels with tips and instruction.
http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.co...duct=MachineQS
Finally, if you feel you have trouble, review all the links in this post carefully and take notes. Every tip put to good use makes life much easier.
Back in October I posted a tutorial on our blog for basting/sandwiching a quilt with 505 spray. That technique can take the worry out of "what's happening on the back of the quilt" when machine quilting.
http://quiltersparadisecafe.blogspot...max-results=10
Using gloves, the correct needle and thread in your machine, and the supreme slider on the machine bed are all wonderful aids for the machine quilter, so try to use them if you can.

I am trying to learn. Not having much luck but am hanging in!

I usually do my straight stitching with FMQ. I have trouble keeping my stitches even. I am working on a log cabin. How should it be quilted. I want to FMQ it in sections.