If you locate the fairy dust send some my way please. Until then I will just stick to hand quilting or sending out to a laq.
ha ha.
Donna

I bought a book by Eva A. Larkin @ my local Joann's called "Free-Motion Quilting Made Easy" and it has been a real help for me. Lots of instructions with pictures and tips. You'll still have to practice, but her tips may relieve some of the stress. Joann's had their books on sale for 30% off, so the price wasn't too bad and I think it was worth every penny!

Good luck!
Carol :lol: :mrgreen:

I tried hand quilting and I'm going back to FMQ. I had to give up crocheting because I would get cramps in my hands and guess what? Handquilting gives me cramps, too! Oh, well. My FMQ may not win any prizes, but it's faster and the machine does most of the work. I, also, do a lot of straight line or gentle curve quilting and use either a walking foot or some other foot.

Thank you - that is fabulous!! Love it!! - I am still in the grab a scrap and practice stage - and that video series is fabulous. Am bookmarking it to go back to for frustration moments that I am sure I will have while learning. Thanks again.
Marysewfun :lol:

Have any of you tried sitting at the end of your machine, as if sitting in front of your machine, the turn it a quarter turn and quilt from the end. I have not tried this but remember reading about it somewhere and was wondering how it works for you.
If I'm low on fairy dust,no wine or Xanax available, snowed in (yes we are in a winter advisory area) and was never able to master learning to play piano, is there any hope I can learn to FMQ?

I just know that if a certian herb would become legal I would make brilliant designs! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :shock: :shock:

It's called Xanax and a margarita....totally agree!!! I keep thinking I will try again this summer but then maybe not! Handquilting was a natural but for some reason fmq is just not my thing. I so admire all the gorgeous fmq I see on this board and think...maybe I was standing behind a door when fmq skills were being handed out.

This thread came in really handy and I realised I'm not alone! I'm very new to MQ and currently only doing SID for a single-sized quilt. I reckon I would have to move to FMQ for the borders once I'm done with the SID. Any advice on what FMQ designs to use for the borders for a beginner? I have an outer border of 4.25" and 2 inner borders of 1.5". Just the thought of doing FMQ really freaks me out! So far, I've only tried on practice quilts and well....they look horrible and uneven! I know it's the speed I need to improve upon and really dread to think about how I could maneuver a huge single-size quilt, when I couldn't even manage a practice quilt :(

If you use the Magic Genie bobbin washers, they will help with the bobbin thread showing.

I feel your pain. Recently purchased a pre-owned Pfaff 7570 and had a devil of a time FMQing a tablerunner. It was like a wrestling an alligator around a bathtub. I could have pieced a full-sized quilt in the same time!
Your comment about the instruction manual was spot on - it could use some tweaking. I wonder if it was written in German and then translated or written by someone whose native tongue is German.
Anyway, a friend gave me a can of silicone spray which I used on my thread (which, to top things off was a metalic) and I used a pair of latex gloves. When I spritzed the spool of thread some of the overspray got onto the machine bed. That helped too, a lot, but I was hesitant to just apply it to the machine bed just willy nilly. Makes me wonder if I want to send the $$$ on that silicone sheet.