OK...I have the proper foot now, my practice sandwich, my doodles are practiced, and I've done about every procrastination thing that I could. So now I'm going to set up my machine and get at it....hum....I see a little dust on the coffee table....no... the dust will always wait...OK...here I go! TTYL

Good luck! One day I'd like to be brave enough to try it. :roll:

good luck, I know it will turn out just fine, but be sure and post a picture :D

Have fun, relax, you will go great. A lot of the ladies will put on some music and sew to the beat of the music (rapp wouldn't work) Enjoy the process. I am talking to you as much as to myself!! :)

You go girl! :lol:

Go for it. You'll love it. I did the same thing. Once I finally did my first FM I wondered why it took me so long to do the first one.

I just had a brief practice today on my friend's machine - she gave me some great advice - remember to BREATHE!!!

K x

LOL! I'm exactly like you! FMQ scares me every time! Good luck, you should do fine!

OK....it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be....have pictures...where do I go to upload?

I think I found it!!!!

See!!! You did great. Keep having fun. The quilting part ( especially FM ) is my favorite part of quilting.

Great job Lainee! :thumbup: You're giving me the courage to try it too! Or at least getting closer to trying it... The quilt I'm doing now, I'm going to have to do something like this with it. Unless I win the lotto and can afford to have it done. haha.
Keep posting progress pictures! :D

Thanks...it sure doesn't take more than a few minutes to realize the limitations of your new purchase...I now find myself lusting after 9"'s....of neck clearance and a sititch relgulator....or at least a machine that was compatible with a stitich regulator. I'll make the best of what I have until my boyfriend retires and we move south and there's room for a dedicated quilting area.

That's how I got started. you did a great job on your first try.
I'm looking forward to getting a long arm in the ..I hope..near future. I found it easier to move the machine rather than the quilt. At least for me. Now I dream of a long arm. I tried putting my machine on a frame but a 4 inch space wasn't enough. I'm looking forward to the day of a 14" space to quilt in. Keep up the great work!!

Looks really good. So lets see the whole thing

Good going Lainee! I just tried FMQ for the first time too the other day, I love it! yeah, remember not to hold your breathe, and try not to hunch your shoulders up like I did, made my whole arms ache. I found it helped to move the whole of my upper body around rather than just my hands/arms. Bet I looked a bit like a weird zombie though, lol. Keep practicing!

GO FOR IT LAINEE!!! I recently started free motion quilting my tops and now I'm addicted!!!!

Awesome job with your practice piece Lainee!!! you will be a pro in no time!

Another tip for FMQ if you don't mind, get yourself a pair of the quilting gloves. They are white with rubber tips on the fingers. They are great for better grip on your fabric as you move the fabric around under the foot. I would be lost without mine!

Good going Laine!!! It looks great so far! I agree with Aggi....I was using quilting discs..switched to the gloves for my last quilt and ....oh my....its like night/day...they are well worth the price!

Looking good.

i just bought a pair of garden gloves at wal mart with the ribbed rubber on the palm side, for $4.98 compared to the $30.00 for the stippling gloves, they work great. and ya know what, my jaws hurt when i'm stippling, i guess i try to chew my gum as fast as the machine is going, doesn't work.

I have recently gotten into free motion...and have been practicing with sandwhiches every evening. Soon I will take the plunge also. Can't wait to hear how it is going for you. What type of machine are you using?

One of the best ways to improve your quilting skills is to practice on a charity quilt. In our area Project Linus is big and the suggested dimensions of the quilt are small. This is a great way to practice your quilting and do something good for your community at they same time.

What I've done to improve my skills is to do small projects like place mats. I purchase fat quarters on sale at Joann's and buy a king size roll of Hobbs cotton batting at Michael's when I have a coupon. I use Golden Threads paper and trace a design on the paper. I always get better results if I have something to follow. It makes for cheap practice pieces and I feel like I'm working on a project rather than just doodling around. Place mats are easy to handle on the sewing machine and you can finish them quickly. I've made place mats for just about every occasion, and I can look back and see the progress that I've made.

:roll:

Please let me know how it came out & what you did. if you could email me at [email protected]. Thank You .. Shirley

Oh it so intimidating but once you start you can't stop. It is a whole new area of quilting to be excited, thrilled and scared about. (I just finished my first one after procrastinating for several years.) I took a class from Harriet Hargrave last September/October and she gave me the confidence to DO
IT.

I felt just like you did until I took Jill Schumacker's machine quilting class. It took 3 different classes and I finally did it. The first quilt wasn't exactly something to brag about but my next one was. A lot of stitching in the ditch really helped me.

Ginger S :)

It sure doesn't take long to get tired from the poor posture and the irregular breathing! After a fat quarter practice sandwich, I'm spent. Also, with the stippling toward the end of the sandwich I losing my focus and some sloppy things happen. Still trying to get the backing stitch be more consistent in it's look. I'm taking a class Saturday afternoon for home sewing machine free motion quilting and they will also teach us how to bind the piece we do in class. Will post that.

I am still learning how to FMQ and was trying last night. A word of advice - slow down and keep your thumbs out of the way!! :oops: It doesn't feel good to sew into your thumb! Been there and now have done it! Oh well when you fall off the horse you have to get right back on again! Sew to the machine I go!

Good idea on the garden gloves. I have been using finger cots and they're less than ideal...sweaty fingers and they're fragil. The quilt shop was out of cloves when I signed up for class and I was going to stop at Joann's today...will check Walmart or Target.

Here's a real newbie question....Do you sew on the paper after you have trace a patten on it? Has anyone tried the rolls of border that you stick onto the fabric? I really do need something to follow to stitch!!!! Don't really like the idea of drawing pattern on fabric...sounds really tedious.

I have done quite a bit of free motion quilting and each time I start I get anxious about it. You just have to jump in. One thing I have found is that after washing the quilt, the puckering that occurs covers up mistakes. Instead of meandering I find it easier to do swirls in different sizes. STop with needle down when you need to reajust your hands at a natural stopping place, which for me is in the center of the swirl when I change direction. It does take practice and is much cheaper than sending out to a long arm quilter. Have fun and breath!

there is somthing called golden threads paper, it is like tissue paper, you trace your pattern onto it, pin to fabric and sew over it, it is a bit teadious to remove all the paper bits afterward but it does work great!