LOL--that might make me feel better the next day

:lol:

I found it easier to learn on smaller pieces rather than an entire quilt.

My machine has a speed control so you can't get going faster than what you set the speed at. This really helped me. I have to go somewhat fast to get more even stitches.
HTH

One of our sheets ripped so I kept the top sheet to cut up and use for practice. It's pretty worn so I don't feel badly about making the sacrifice. I'm going to make a bunch of practice sandwiches and then just try to practice a lot!

Maia, you're cracking me up! BUT I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL.

I, after reading all these comments and suggestions, am feeling much better. I don't have the margarita fixins right now, but I might have a stray muscle relaxer in the bottom of my purse. Better go look...

:thumbup: Yes! I knew there was a solution out there! There was just that little missing ingredient...speed slower, yes...go in the same direction, yes...buy a new bobbin case, yes...consider a shoulder transplant, oh, no!
thanks diane!!

Ok, take my advice with a grain of salt , please, as I have yet to master FMQ, but I Have been improving. The greatest advice I got, is to start with practicing FMQ your name, yes all connected in small letters...you know they say if you can't draw it, you can't quilt it, pick the designs that are easiest for you to draw, and just keep drawing it until your hands know their way...stippling is not necessarily the easiest, I personally find loops much easier to do. Once you are comfortable with your name, move on to other letters, words and then move on from there, but always practice it on paper first, and it does take practice, practice, practcie :mrgreen:

Good luck, it will get more fun!

I have a few suggestons.

For easy practice, look in the remnant bins for prequilted fabric and use that to practice on.

Be sure you are pulling your bobbin thread up to the top of the fabric before starting, and dropping your feed dogs.

You need to be moving your quilt as fast as you are stitching it. If you don't have a matching rhythm between your moving the quilt and the needle going up and down in the quilt, you will have loops on the bottom of your quilt. So find the speed that you work at the best.

Put your needle in the down position so when you stop, the needle will be in the fabric.

Turn your machine around to face you. When you look at FMQ set ups like the Flynn or the HQ Sweet Sixteen or the Easy Quilter Track System, the machines are all facing you.

If you have a bed attachment on your machine, invest in one of those silicon slider sheets that help the fabric move smoothly back and forth. I think it's called a Silicon Slider but you can also get a silicon oven liner at Bed Bath and Beyond that works great and is cheaper.

Then practice. You can do it, just start with easy meandering lines first and work your way up.

And add wine, lots and lots of wine.

In other words, take a Xanax to calm you down so your motions aren't jerky, just relaxed and s l o w. Then take the margarita so that when you're done, you don't care anyway!

Drawing a simple design on paper without lifting the pencil is most helpful. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. After you have drawn the simple design and feel you can do it (it does not have to be perfect--you are looking for smoothness), now take your well basted practice piece to the machine. Without engaging the needle or motor, move the fabric under your darning foot, just like you would if your foot were on the pedal. Repeat until the motion feels natural. When ready, engage. Remember to breathe.

If I can FMQ anyone can believe me. It is like climbing a very steep hill-- sticking with it is the tough part. Once you are over the hump it does get easier. Trying to challenge myself to do different designs. But my firsts 4 or 5 were stippled/ that is the easiest one to start with. I initially swirled the quilt around when quilting. The four kings I just quilted I placed masking tape across the middle and quilted half of the quilt at a time going left to right, back to the middle and over to the right and back. Then rotated to the unfinshed half and repeated the procedure. Clear as mud, right?