Quilting terms
 

Ok. I'm a tad confused. I'll start by saying I am a hand quilter. Have machine quilted a couple of quilts but just straight line quliting.

My confusion lies in the Free Motion Quilting term. It seems to be interchangeable with Machine Quilting?

I think of 'free motion' as having no particular quilting pattern in mind or result. I think of 'machine quilting' as more of a defined pattern. Am I understanding the terms correctly?

The reason for my question...while I love my hand quilting, I'm considering exploring machine quilting. I'm particularly interested in 'ruler quilting'. I have several UFO's that, frankly, just don't lend themselves to hand quilting - in my mind (NY Beauty for one).

I'm not creative enough to just 'meander' as many of you talented quilters are. Additionally, I'm particularly attracted to very symmetrical quilting designs.

My LQS is offering a ruler class but specifically for Bernina machines/feet/rulers. I don't have a Bernina. I will stop by to see if I can 'monitor' the class to get a feel for ruler quilting but I'm hesitant to invest big bucks in feet/rulers if it's not something that I think I'll like. Obviously practice is necessary to obtain optimum results. With anything.

I don't know if there are other avenues to explore? Any hints, clues, suggestions are very welcome.

'Free motion' means that you aren't quilting with feed dogs, so the motion of the fabric is controlled only by your hands, not by the machine advancing the fabric. Machine quilting can either be free motion, without feed dogs, or straight line with the feed dogs. With free motion quilting, you definitely have a pattern in mind, whether it be a simple meander, or fancy feathers. If you have a long arm machine or a sit down quilting machine, you need rulers in order to do straight lines, because you don't have the feed dogs. But if you will be quilting on a DSM, I don't think you'd have need of the rulers.

Some machines are bringing out a special foot like you see on the longarm machines, to use with rulers - I think Bernina is one - because then the rulers can't just slide under the needle and cause havoc. Perhaps your brand machine will have it too, sooner or later. You can get all sorts of shapes, not just straight ones.

I would strongly suggest you follow up on the class, at least it will all be explained properly. The LQS may even have a machine you can borrow for the day to try, but you may need a bit of tuition on the machine beforehand, as the teacher will not want or be able to teach you on the day.

I know this sounds like a really stupid question, but here goes. On a domestic sewing machine can you quilt with the feed dogs up? And if so, what kind if quilting would you do and what kind of foot would you need?

As Tartan suggested, check out Amy's website. I've also seen a number of tutorials on YouTube for ruler quilting. I think Leah Day is offering classes and/or tutorials for ruler quilting. And there's probably something on Craftsy.

Not stupid at all. Yes, you can quilt with the feet up. For straight line quilting you use a walking foot, feet up. For loops, feathers, etc. you use a hopping or quilting foot (non-hopping). Usually you drop the feed dogs when using these but some leave them up and set the stitch length to zero.

Thanks everyone for clearing this up for me. Yes, I'll be working with a domestic machine - not a long arm! And yes, I expect to pay a fee even to monitor the ruler class. Not sure if they'll have any demo machines set up as part of the class requirements are the feet/rulers for your Bernina. Since I do not own a Bernina...

To get an idea of what ruler work is you might go to Patsy Thompson's website
http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/
She has some demo videos that would give you an idea. She also sells supplies, including a clear plastic ruler foot that may fit your machine and is fairly inexpensive.
Amy Johnson also has videos on ruler work on a domestic machine.
I really enjoy both FMQ and ruler work. And mixing them.
Both take practice but are great once you get that practice.

I just want to add that you can also do straight line quilting (like stitch in the ditch) with a regular foot, it's just easier with a walking foot. A walking foot helps move the fabric from the top, which helps keep the sandwich together better. I mention this only because for some people the additional expense of a walking foot may be out of reach (mine was well over $100!), and I'd hate for someone to think they couldn't do it without it.