i have bee wanting yo try FMQ with my Bernina vintage. So today I attached the "darning foot". It cost me as much as the used machine. I had pieced a doll quilt for 2 yr old GD and remembered the suggestion to practice on small things. IDID IT. The foot went on easily. I surprised myself how fun it is!! It is now the ugliest thing I ever did but the doll won't care!! I have a long way to go in getting my stitches even and pattern neat.

Can't wait to do another small project. Thanks everyone for you ideas and tips..Keep them coming

Way to go. It's fun once you get the hang of it.

YEA!!!! Keep practicing, practicing, practicing!!!!!! :thumbup: :thumbup:

yay! That's all it takes - practice, practice, practice!

Congrats. I'm so glad you decided to try FMQ. I fell in love with it the first time I tried it. Keep working at it and it will just get better and better.

I am still working on learning FMQ with my old friend Bernina. I read that even if you spend 10 minutes a day working on it, it helps you improve. Problem is that I don't want to quit once I start! It is surprising how much fun I have doing it.

Congrats - keep practicing

Yay for you!!! If you are satisfied with your results, then move on. You go girl! So many people get set in a quandry; is this good enough? Hell yes! Just do it. Big hint here; I never practiced on anything. To most, I'm a rebel; to myself I am me. Get with the program; you CAN do it. We are not talking about brain surgery here.

Before long tou will be doing a big quilt.

Good for you!!! We all started right where you are.

I think jumping in and doing a big one is a good idea. If you practice too much on a little one, then you'll have a harder time with the transition. I do think practicing with your index finger of your writing hand on any smooth surface helps, even without a marker or anything. Frees up your mind to go in all directions. :thumbup:

Congratulations, have fun!

I am learning to FMQ on my vintage Bernina, and love it. As soon as I get one little quilt done I'm wishing there was another one ready. I'd have to say my progress is slow, but fairly steady. Keep at it!

I just have to point out that if you got a Bernina of any age for the price of that foot, the machine was a steal! Check the price of them on eBay sometime. Hang on to that machine because she's really fine and well worth fixing if she gets a little "tired and sore" after all the years.

Mine is an 830 Record from 1972, and she serves me well, but it is not unusual to overheat the motor while doing FMQ for extended periods. It has a "fail-safe" mechanism that makes it stop dead if it exceeds a certain temperature. After 20 minutes or so it will run again as if nothing happened. It is much better to give it a brief rest now and then before it reaches that point, and keep the machine well oiled.

I learned somewhere online that you can tell the age of vintage Berninas by looking at the first 2 digits of the serial number (usually on the back above the motor housing) and adding 60 to get the year.