I know what you mean. I CAN quilt it myself, but I decided a while back that life is too short to wrestle a full-sized quilt through the throat of a regular sewing machine. (Now if I had one of the new Janome Horizon's I MIGHT change my mind. But maybe not). So I have several tops waiting until I have the money to have them done.

So, I'll do the smaller ones, and just wait on the others. If worst comes to worst, someone can sell them in a garage sale after I'm dead. :wink:

I have taken a wealth of information from this post. Thank-you all. I have quilted all of my quilts on a domestic machine with the regular pressure foot because I did not know any difference. I do now have a machine with all the goodies and I am anxious to try them out. Wish me luck, I seem to have entered the world of 'break the needle' lately. I have to know why I am doing that because I have become paranoid.
For fabric I thought about yard sales. At the end of the day the people are hot and tired. Many times they will give away what hasn't sold or sell it for pennies. Linens, clothes, drapes, etc. In my quilting world fabric is fabric (except polyester and such).

I've done the FMQ practice, practice, practice and a couple of things I've noticed that have helped me

Use a larger needle
Try different threads...some machines are picky and only like cotton, for instance
Rethread the machine and change out your bobbin..use a newly wound one...if the needle is breaking. Even clean around bobbin with an artist type paint brush helps sometimes....to get out the lint or dust, etc.
Don't give up!!!!
If frustrated, take a break.
Practice drawing the shapes on paper to get your rhythm of moving the fabric and drawing with the needle...that helped a bunch. I'm FINALLY getting better.

[quote=dsb38327]I have taken a wealth of information from this post. Thank-you all. I have quilted all of my quilts on a domestic machine with the regular pressure foot because I did not know any difference. end quote ]


Do you mean you quilted them without dropping the feed dogs? That's what I'm really curious about. Are people able to quilt without dropping the feed dogs?
If so, anyone at all with almost any machine can do simple quilting. Right? Because as we all know many, many machines do not have that capability. As a matter of fact I just bought the first machine I have ever owned that can have its feed dogs dropped. 8-)

Do give it a go! I quilt mine on my domestic machine. I couldn't afford to send them out. The trick is, and you've probably heard it a thousand times, but it's so true: practice, practice, practice. Just jump in with a small quilt sandwich and practice. It's not that hard and it gets easier the more you practice. Good luck!

i use nothing but a basic stitch... i adjust it to a longer stitch than for piecing... but i dont use anything other than thread lol... no special anything :D

Thank you! I'm going to try it.

8-)

I made a baby quilt for my son and used a singer from walmart. It worked just fine. make diamond squares on every other corner. I don't have a walking foot and didn't adjust anything other than the type of stitch. used a zig zag. also made a fleece throw for my grandmother and used this decorative zig zag stitch. it wasn't perfect but got the job done. I would just take your manual over to Joanns and get a walking foot. I asked a women at a sewing machine shop and she said that most are only 15-20. not too bad for what you are getting.

I wont send mine out, as I don't have money, and as far as fabric, I only have what has been sent to me from the wonderful people on this board. as I am disabled and don.t have an income. God bless. Penny

you are a pro! Just beautiful stichery!