Just keep trying, it will come. I have decided that this is the year that I am learning fmq and have really dug into it. I have taken a class at my local quilt store and watch every video I can find about it. I bought a dry eraser board and every night while hubby watches television I sit and doodle on that board (don't want to waste a million trees by using paper). I joined the Free Motion Quilting Challenge at SewCalGal blogspot (see below) and for February we're learning feathers. I never in my life thought I could make a decent feather and my first attempts were certainly laughable. But after several weeks of working with my dry eraser board, I finally got brave enough to go to the machine and I actually made halfway decent feathers. So practicing the drawing really helps.

It seems this is the year for teaching fmq because there are several sites that are doing it. Here are some that I keep track of and have joined in:

Leah Day's (she's awesome): http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.c...tart-here.html

Free Motion Quilting Challenge (this one is fun and the teachers are awesome): http://www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/...challenge.html

Sew Inspired: http://www.sewinspiredblog.com/p/foc...-quilting.html

Free Motion Quilt Along: http://quokkaquilts.blogspot.com/p/fmqaygqalfmqml.html

Patsy Thompson: http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/free-video/

Wendy Sheppard (Awesome quilter) Lots of tutorials on right side about halfway down the page: http://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/

http://www.generations-quilt-pattern...-quilting.html

Those are all free sites. Craftsy.com has two online fmq courses (one a beginner course with Wendy Butler Burns and one a more advanced course with Ann Peterson called Beyond Basic Machine Quilting. If you sign up for their newsletter, you can get their classes at up to a 50% discount. I have no affiliation with them, but love these two courses. Once you have registered for a course, you can keep going back and watch what you need over and over and over.

Good luck and keep at it. I am far from good, but do feel after all the practicing I've been doing since the first of the year I am ready to quilt a real quilt (just meandering for a charity quilt to start with).

You will eventually get it! I've been FMQing for years and I think I may have just now find now fast my machine needs to go and how slow my hands needs to go.

Thanks for the FMQ urls.

When I started I made up about 12 quilt sandwiches of muslin and warm and natural. Each one wa about 20 x 20. I just kept trying. I found that to move the fabric and press the foot pedal to coordinate with each other was the most difficult thing.
Remember to inhale and exhale. Relax your shoulders. The machine does not need to be going at 100 mph. Try to press the pedal so the machine is running slowly and just slowly move the fabric as if you were drawing or writting your name. Eventually it gets easier. The easier it gets the more you enjoy it.

Thnak you Judy for the links! I, too am afraid of FMQ, but want desperately to be able to do it!

I am with you! People have told me how relaxing it is but all I get is a migraine! I have been told to practice, practice, practice! Also been told to practice on table runners, etc but then I feel like I have ruined them and don't want anyone to see how bad the FMQ looks like.
Thanks to all on the board for posting websites to go to. I will keep trying!!

One of my quilting friends gave me some excellent advice when I began long arm quilting, and I believe that it also holds true for FMQ on a regular machine. Purchase a large dry erase board and practice the patterns on it. It helps imprint the pattern in your mind and your develop "muscle" memory through reptition. Good luck!

this is a great idea!

eradicate "can't" and change it to something like, it sure is taking its time to come to me... LOL