Hand quilting is in my blood and it provides me with the time to sit and relax.

I am taking a class tomorrow at my LQS on free motion quilting and can't wait to learn something. I have used the LQS LA a couple of times and love it. Just bought a Janome 9800 and it has enough room to do a small quilt on it.

No, I don't feel that way at all. In fact I don't want a long arm. I feel like I really didn't quilt it if a long arm does it. For a year I've been learning FMQ through Leah Day and Craftsy classes. I recently made a template for a wine glass. I had quilted SID and I traced the wine glass on to every other square on the back. I did the back because my quilt backs are muslin. It turned out great and I have found I'm very interested in doing FMQ and FM embroidery. I'm taking a Craftsy class now that teaches those skills. As far as being perfect...I don't even go there because I'll never be at that level.

I was a perfectionist too but finally I understood "better done than perfect". I do charity quilts with fabrics from my guild and practice machine quilting on them. Little by little I try new designs. I learned that I dont like heavy quilting so I am finding what I am feel comfortable with. The set up when you are quilting is a must. If the quilt is hanging you will only get frustrated. Chech Leah Day as it was suggested. Just last weekend I tried another machine and foot and made the whole difference about my experience machine quilting. I think now I will be able to experience more and feel better about it, but to tell you the truth, I usually don't use the seam ripper. I know that the recipient (non quilter) will not even notice the imperfections. Good luck and dont be too hard on youself. Enjoy the process and the result.
Andrea

I hate to hand sew so hand quilting isn't an option for me. I sometimes feel the same way. My quilt guild makes doll quilts for Salvation Army for their Christmas toys for tots. I have a small pile made so far about 20. I am going to sign up for one of the Craftsy classes and use them to practice on. It is so much easier to practice on a smaller quilt. I took a FMQ class years ago but didnt feel like I was getting any better no matter how much I practiced. I took another class last year. I have no idea what I learned that I didn't already know but I do know my FMQ is a lot better now.
I will make a few more doll sized quilt then I need to figure out which Craftsy class to take. Good Luck.

I do not have a long arm machine and also feel intimidated by the art of FMQ. I have done it on small objects but I am not always satisfied with the outcome.

Ditto to Anita in DE. I keep sticking to hand quilting cause I can perfect it, slowly. Maybe one day I'll take up on the challenge of MQ. Slow and steady wins the game as the saying goes, Right?

FMQ takes practice. Start out by drawing designs on paper until your hand can really flow through your favorite design. Experiment on a big square [with batting and backing[. Try different speeds and get your hands moving in sync.
I want to be able to make beautiful, fine designs so I am taking a break from piecing and working on free motion every day for 20 minutes or more. Leah Day tutorials are a great place to begin. I love to hand quilt, but want to master FMQ

I actually don't love the look of a long-arm-quilted quilt. It's too perfect, obviously not done by human hands alone. I love the charm of FMQ. It's freestyle, by hand. Very cozy and personal...

I enjoy the piecework, but then I ran into the fact that I didn't LIKE Stitch In the Ditch. YUCK! So I invested in a "hopping foot" and then jumped in. I Free Motion Quilted a bed runner, with a mini pattern from an old quilting magazine I had saved for years. I wasn't happy with the way it turned out, my stitches weren't even, I could see every wobble of the lines, etc. Then I took that to work, and WOWED the crowd of non-quilters! Hmmm, that made me feel good!

Take a deep breath, start SMALL! and enjoy the learning process. Does your machine have some interesting stitches? I've used the 3 step zig-zag with variegated thread and stitched across the quilt in a grid. Turned out really cute.

Recently I discovered the "Pebble" pattern. Remember drawing circles learning how to write? Pretty much the same pattern, but with thread. Ignore the quilt top pattern, do an all over Pebble (for the baby quilt, I'm calling it Bubbles!) I still can't wrap my brain around stippling, but circles? No problems! And the texture is instant and really fun. And by the time I finished the first 200 circles, I found myself relaxing and they looked better and better. I took my breaks when I ran out of bobbin thread! That first Pebble quilt, thread color was fluorescent PINK on top and mauve thread on bottom! And the baby I gifted it to, doesn't care if all the lines aren't perfect!

Good luck and Happy Quilting!