Oh dear! LOL You are all so funny. I am fairly new to FMQ and breathing is getting easier to remember. On one of my machines I able to regulate my speed. I sorta do best with a medium to high speed... until I get lost in where I am going... THEN, I stop with the needle down and get reoriented and take off again. Everyone says practise, practise, practise and I think they are right.

Oh, I always starting out praying. :-D

Jennifer, this has been my prob. too. I'm now trying to do larger work but lose my way. I still end up doing smaller work. As much FMQ as I've done now I still don't like my work.
I'm also having a prob. with the drag of the fabric on the mach.

Hope I've offered the right sacrifice to the quilting gods!

Are you using the BSR?

I start at a point which leads to a smooth line and then just move the sandwich around until finished. Then I pull the bobbin thread up, tie all four threads off and bury the knot. So far this has worked quite well. I'm teaching nyself to do FMQ and started with pot holders. One thing I have found is to watch the mark on the foot and not the needle, it makes it easier and gives a much better result. If I try to watch the needle I get in trouble and out comes the trusty seam ripper. I really love FMQ, but I need practice practice practice before I tackled anything large.

I want to try echo quilting, but I'm going to have to get much better before I try that.

Oh, one thing I found is remember to lower the foot because if you don't you get the most horrendous birds nests ever. It is hard to remember because you have this puffy sandwich and it looks like the foot is down. I stuck a post it note on my machine that says "LOWER THE FOOT."

Oh, and praying doesn't hurt either. For that matter, cussing seems to ease the bird nest pain.

Have a glass of wine then a deep breath to relax!

Wow, this FMQ is sounding really difficult. Now I am really nervous. I am taking a 6 hour class on it tomorrow. We are supposed to bring FQ sized sandwiches to practice on. I have heard so many horror stories, I am wondering how things will go! 16 hours to build up my courage! ;)

I've heard I have to relax, relax, relax!

What is BSR?

First thing I do is clean and oil machine if it is needing it, put in a new needle, wind several bobbins, then get ready to sew....I bring the bottom thread up to the top, take 3-4 stitches going forward about a thread with each stitch, then start taking stitches at the stitch length I like. I also end stitching by taking the really short stitches. I don't like to stitch exactly in place. Remember to breathe while quilting!

I was taught to pull up the bobbin thread when you first begin, then make 3-4 stitches in place to lock them, then trip the threads. I have found that it is so much easier to trip your threads right away, then you don't have to go looking for them later. Also, I had a Home Ec. Teacher, Mrs. B. who drummed it into our heads to cut those threads right away. I guess I was a good learner because when I see other people leave their threads loose, I cringe, but say nothing - to each his own.

lol im with u

Hi I put on all the equipment I brought from this website, which makes life so much easier.

First thing is I adjust the height of the FMQ foot to just touching what i am quilting and with the surpreme slider(from leah days website) no need to put dogs down, then I put the needle down into the fabric then start the machine speed, slow to medium, and moving the fabric around at a steady pace, this will dictate the size of stitches.
no swearing, or chocolates or wine is needed, just a fair amount of practise and that means quite a few hours before you get the idea.

http://www.daystyledesigns.com/supremeslider.htm

:roll:

i pull the bottom thread to the top take a couple stitches in place then when i am done i bury the tail

I did a class last week and it was great fun. Some of the ladies there had never tried FMQ, and there was some trauma at first, but by the end of the day everyone was producing pretty good results. Though the class teacher did very wisely start the day by saying that FMQ isn't for everyone, and there was no shame in using the day to decide that you didn't want to pursue it any further.

After years of struggle I'm finally beginning to get somewhere with FMQ. I start by making a large-ish practice piece with the same fabric and batting as my quilt. I then get the tension sorted, which can be difficult on my machine, but I'm slowly getting the measure of it, though I sometimes have to compromise on thread choices to get it to co-operate. I then practice my pattern - at the moment usually stippling or loops. I'm not well-co-ordinated and I have to accept that it can take my brain a while to "click" and get my hands moving in the right directions, so I may practice on paper first, then the practice piece. When I get to the quilt itself, I take several very deep breaths, say a quick prayer (the quilting angel must be very busy!), deliberately relax my shoulders - and just go for it. I pull the bottom thread up and take a few very small stitiches - and very slowly, or I tend to get a birds nest. Then I can speed up and into the pattern. Every now and then I check that I'm still breathing :-) :-) I wrote to Leah Day for advice a while ago, and one thing she said was - just put a quilt on your machine, with the same colour threads top and bottom so that mistakes don't show so much - and quilt it. Sounds so simple, but I realised that, for me anyway, she was right - I was so afraid of making mistakes that the tops were piling up while I put off quilting them. So I've gone for it, with tops that aren't particularly precious, and she's right - I settled down, began to enjoy myself, and my stitches quickly improved. The results aren't perfect - I won't be entering any shows - but they're not that bad either!

Decide who I will have do it. work out the details with them, and if necessary, ship it off. ;)

:D Now why didn't I think of that?!

Baby quilts are great for practicing on...they aren't going to care what the quilting looks like...practicing on squares is ok for a couple of squares...but then it is more fun to learn/practice on an actual quilt!

my friend does the same thing..the glass of wine..anad then she puts headphones on with her i pod..she hs special music she listens to to FMQ by!

:thumbup:

I am of the firm belief if you want to practice, pick up some cheater quilt pieces. The lines are on there. I had a bunch of double wedding ring cheaters and man I practiced on a 42 x 70 and put a lot of thread in it. When I was done it made a nice present for my MIL couch. I have practiced on them because they look so much like a real quilt without the work on piecing, and then you have a nice gift too.

I hold my breath and pray the tension won't get the best of me. Then I turn on the radio and go with it. Remember, the seam ripper is your friend! good luck

Practice on something first. Cut a piece about 10 x 10. Next batting and backing. Use it first to make sure that you have your tension right. Then if you haven't dropped the feed dogs, dropped those puppy's. Pull up your bottom thread to the top and get r done! Practice until you can't figure out where you started and stopped at. By then you will have worked the kinks out in your armor and you won't be so tense in the shoulders and then take a leisurely stroll with your machine. If your still tense, practice on something more. Tenseness will cause all kinds of problems. Eye strain, headaches, back and neck aches. Remember: there are NO quilt police. Everyone has a learning curve. As you master one thing, you will learn something else. Your confidence will grow and each quilt will be more beautiful than the last one. Post your first one after your done. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

LOL :lol: :lol: :lol: A very good answer, indeed! :idea:

this was my first attempt at FMQ. I used BigFoot with feed dogs down and just sewed around the butterflies.

I start with a glass of wine, put on some great music and when I do start in, I bring the bottom thread up to the top.

This is a great example of practicing. You don't have to think too hard on where you are going to quilt, just quilt around things to learn speed and stitch length. You did a great job around the butterflies.

Thanks, I felt happy like I was "coloring between the lines" lol! Like a kid using crayons. I'm going to make some quilt sandwiches and practice before I attempt to FMQ the quilt I'm working on.