I really don't know what I am doing.
I do not have any machine quilting thread.
I do not have a walking foot.

That said. I thought I would practice, because a friend is going to show Sue and me how to make quilt-as-you-go blocks. I drew some lines and started stitching. It did not go as well as I had planned. I have to PULL the sandwich through the machine. (I do have a little plastic thing to go over the feed dogs). I try to go slowly. Not doing well. I try to turn to stay on the lines I drew. Not doing well there either.

Any suggestions?

Do you have a "needle down" position on your sewing machine? If not, just make sure needle is in the fabric when making turns. If you're just doing straight or semi-straight lines, you need to have the feed dogs up and engaged. You don't have to treat it like it's FMQ where you need to have the feed dogs down (or covered). Does that help?? :D

Are you using the darning foot it doesn't quite press the fabric down and you should be able to move it quite freely.

My machine is an older one that the needle stops up a lot, so I will pay better attention to that.

I am sewing curves that look like the repeated feather pattern that so many people like. I wonder if I should try a curve that is a little less "severe"??

It's just that the block seems so tough to get through the machine. I wonder if that plastic is making the area smaller....

Wonder if I should just invest in a walking foot.

It just has the foot that was on when it was bought. There are some plastic feet that I have never used.... Should I see if I can find the darning foot? (Do I have a darning foot?) :-)

With a walking foot you can only do gentle curves if you use an darning or embroidery foot you should be able to do it.

You don't need machine quilting thread to quilt; regular thread works fine.

Are you trying to do free motion quilting? Since you covered the feed dogs, I assume that's what you are trying to do. If so, you *must* have a "jumping" foot. Most people use the darning foot. This foot lifts up between each stitch to allow you to move the quilt sandwich. It sounds as if you are using your regular sewing foot. You can use a regular sewing foot to quilt (similar to using a walking foot, with the feed dogs up), but *not* to free motion quilt!

Most likely one of the plastic feet is a darning foot. Look for one that has a spring action on it. Holding it in one hand, you should be able to move the foot up and down with the other hand. That is because it has a spring in it.

If you have been using a regular foot to try to free motion quilt, that explains why you are having such difficulty moving the quilt sandwich.

I drew some lines on the block for something to follow. I think if I tried free motion it would look worse than this. It looks a tiny bit better than what I did yesterday, but still is very yucky.

I just checked the plastic feet, and they are all solid pieces. There are three and none have moving parts.

You need to get a darning foot for your machine if you want to free motion quilt. (Free motion quilting means you drop or cover the feed dogs and move the quilt sandwich around yourself.)

A walking foot works great for straight lines. To use a walking foot, though, you leave the feed dogs up or uncovered and let the machine feed the quilt. You can make gently curving lines with a walking foot by directing the quilt sandwich.

For tight curves, you need to use free motion (covered feed dogs and a darning foot).