Once you have checked tension, bobin, needle, and anything else you can try. The best advice I got for FMQ was, foot fast and hands slow. It seemed to go better, the other thing someone said was keep your eyes where you wanna go, not where the needle is.

I wonder if those Magic Bobbin Washers would help. A lot of quilters swear by these.

I understand exactly what you're dealing with...it's like trying to write by moving the paper under the pen.

Get a bunch of muslin squares and batting to fit.
Then practice straight lines at a medium speed...
Do it over and over and over........and don't give up!
In elementary school I used to get frustrated with all the drills for the Palmer Method of penmanship, but I would do it over again in a heart beat...since people still compliment my penmanship....but wait...compared to what they see today, well...I should practice more. :shock: :shock:

If you are waiting to do your FMQ on a project the frustration level shoots way up there.....

Do the practice squares..............and don't give up!

I'm lucky because I was able to get a long arm frame and now have a mid-arm that I can use for my quilting...and believe me....I need a lot of practice there also! :thumbup:

You might also get some Magic Genie bobbin Washers. They are teflon disks that fit under your bobbin. You can get them at Brubakers.com who also has the Janome blue dot bobbin. If you put in a code yahoo15, you will get a 15% discount. You might also want to join the janome yahoo group. I have the new Horizon and have learned so much from this group.

I would highly recommend looking online for Leah Day. I have learned alot from her blog. She has extremely good videos and explains step by step.

Another thing that really helps is to practice drawing your quilting pattern out on paper until you are really comfortable with it. If you can get comfortable drawing it on paper, it will translate to your quilt sandwich because your brain will not have to be thinking so hard on where to go next.

I don't do a lot of FMQ, but I am trying to practice more. I saw a freehand filler that a really liked. I actually practiced it in my head while I was trying to get to sleep the other night. I even woke up thinking about it. I just tried it on my machine, and it worked beautifully because my brain had already figured out how to do it.

I've heard the good long-armers say that they doodle all the time. My sister isn't a quilter, but she tried out a long arm machine at a quilt show and she was a natural. I asked her how in the world she did that. She said she used to doodle all the time in college.

LeAnne

my Janome longarm only like King TUT thread anything else just doesn't seem to work well, not sure if that would help but I would call the dealer and ask some questions maybe you could get some answers

my Janome longarm only like King TUT thread anything else just doesn't seem to work well, not sure if that would help but I would call the dealer and ask some questions maybe you could get some answers

You mention that your thread gets all bunched up when FMQ. Do you pull your bobbin thread up to the top before you start FMQ? Someone mentioned the 4 videos on youtube. I think those are very helpful. One of them shows pulling the bobbin thread up. Keep practicing! I recently took a FMQ class and the instructor had us practice on preprinted pillow panels and large print fabrics.

Yup, always made sure my bobbin thread is pulled up before the FMQ. I've tried almost everything I could in my capacity. Guess would really give the blue bobbin case a try....just called the service centre and the lady said she would deliver it to a dealer nearby for me to pick up. I asked about the straight stitch needleplate with a single hole too but she said it's out of stock locally.

Has anybody tried the blue tip needles with FMQ and does it help?

I'm using wt 30 thread as I find it thicker, hence may be more sturdy for MQ. I note that some people have suggested that I try wt 50. Is it strong enough for MQ to feed through the quilt sandwich and withstand multiple washes?