I owned a Gammill for 14 years, but due to back issues, I had to sell. Now I plan on doing my own with my walking foot on my smaller projects. My friend that bought my machine will do my larger quilts for me.

Don't beat yourself up! I rather see straight line quilting done really well, than fmq that has not been perfected.
Practice your fmq on dog beds or pot holders. Put on some relaxing music and go for it. Enjoy your process, whatever it may be.:o

I do both, but I think you should do what you enjoy! It's a hobby! Do the fun part and forget about the part you don't like.

I have been doing FMQ about 16 years. I love doing it and the looks of it. I should be much better at it than I am But so what? As long as I am doing it it is okay. I do find it relaxing. I FMQ on a 9" throat machine. I just finished an almost queen size quilt, turned out pretty good. I do straight line quilting once in a while.

Different quilting for different people.

I was exclusively a hand quilter until a couple of years ago. I realized that I made more tops than I had time to quilt by hand :)
I do better with FMQ than straight line. No idea why.
I noticed an improvement when I bought a machine with a larger throat. I just made a King for our bed and sent that to a LA'er. No way would I wrestle something that big.
Whatever works for you is the best way!

I have done both. I'm learning that I really like the look as well as the ease of straight line quilting. Sometimes I feel like I should do more, especially since I've invested time and money into ruler work, but often I'm finding that straight line is winning the day for me. Go for it with no worries!

When I come upon something that looks easy but isn't, I tend to try to master it just to prove something to myself.

Now I'm not saying I have mastered FMQ, but I can do a few things. It is kind of nerve wracking, and if the machine is skipping stitches or you aren't able to control the speed just right, it can be close to h@!!.

If you are determined to do it to satisfy your own …(in my case, ego)...pride, then work to see what is happening that makes the boo boos. It's probably mechanical, not human error.
If your pride is not driving your discontent, then you can do straight line quilting and have fewer meltdowns. And beautiful quilts.

Are you quilting for show or just for fun? I'm not all that great with FMQ either, so I generally stick to walking foot quilting. I found Leah Day's book with that title and really feel better about myself!! I can do broad curves with my walking foot and enjoy the freedom and lack of stress. If I want curves and swirls, I occasionally have bigger quilts longarmed. Otherwise, I do them myself, sometimes in sections and sometimes squishing them through my domestic machine. Do what you enjoy.

I do both also...I can FMQ lap and crib sizes comfortably but rent a LA for larger projects. It all depends on the pattern of the quilt. I used wavy lines on my last crib quilt with my walking foot and often do cross hatching on kids’ quilts that will get a lot of washing. [ATTACH=CONFIG]603631[/ATTACH]
I still consider myself a beginner FMQer but I enjoy the process.

I enjoy both and do whichever seems best for the project I am doing at the time. I like to look at groups of pictures of quilts and see how others have done things. I seem to be fairly good at replicating ideas others have done successfully; however, I lack the wonderful whimsical ideas that some have. I just enjoy the process and am happy with what I do.