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I had to change my bobbin thread in the middle of my FMQ'ing once. Didn't check to make sure the stitching on the back looked right. Imagine how upset I was when I finished and turned my quilt over....AWFUL. So glad it wasn't a large area but I sure wasted a lot of thread. So if you have to rethread while FMQ'ing, always check your stitching so you can correct any problems right away.
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I have read this somewhere else on here but haven't tried it yet. I haven't done many quilts and have just started FMQ so I must give it a try. Thanks for the reminder
[quote=SharBear]Last week I used a HQ Sweet 16 sit down. When I was going to do some FMQ on my DSM last night I decided that there was no reason not to turn my machine so that the head was oriented the same as the Sweet 16. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! |
Originally Posted by Peckish
I think I taught myself a few new words... rofl! :lol:
One thing I've learned is to listen. If the sound of things changes, there's probably something wrong: bobbin thread out, tension has gone awry, needle is dull, thread isn't feeding correctly, I'm moving the fabric at a different rate.... |
Originally Posted by Glassquilt
My tongue was all over the place! It was actually kinda funny (picture child with tongue stuck out as they are concentrating intently on coloring or some other project).
Sometimes it take years to perfect the tongue thing. 1. Laugh at yourself. It makes FMQ much more fun. 2. Have a really good seam ripper as a good friend. 3. Stitches do not have to be perfect, only close. Unless you are entering in a show for judging, NO ONE is going to look at it with a magnifying glass. |
Originally Posted by MellieKQuilter
1. I think I may have actually burned a few calories! My arms were burning!! :)
2. Always FMQ alone... While I couldnt see myself, I was doing some CRAZY things with my mouth! My tongue was all over the place! It was actually kinda funny (picture child with tongue stuck out as they are concentrating intently on coloring or some other project). 3. Always FMQ alone... My hands ended up in all different weird postions and I swear I used my arms a few times to push that fabric around! It must have looked ridiulous! 4. Buy extra thread... HOLY COW! It seemed as if I used a ton of the stuff!! 5. Be patient/slow and steady!!... (altho I wasnt.. I think wine would have helped with that...). I am not sure who I was racing against.. but I am sure that I won!! What all are things you have learned during a first or subsequent session of FMQ on you DSM?? Tips? Tricks? Giggles?? |
If you start out practicing on very small quilts it helps.
But with larger quilts I found that walking foot the center and free motion the border works out best. Borders dont need to be shoved thru the machine so are much easier to handle. |
Originally Posted by MellieKQuilter
1. I think I may have actually burned a few calories! My arms were burning!! :)
2. Always FMQ alone... While I couldnt see myself, I was doing some CRAZY things with my mouth! My tongue was all over the place! It was actually kinda funny (picture child with tongue stuck out as they are concentrating intently on coloring or some other project). 3. Always FMQ alone... My hands ended up in all different weird postions and I swear I used my arms a few times to push that fabric around! It must have looked ridiulous! 4. Buy extra thread... HOLY COW! It seemed as if I used a ton of the stuff!! 5. Be patient/slow and steady!!... (altho I wasnt.. I think wine would have helped with that...). I am not sure who I was racing against.. but I am sure that I won!! What all are things you have learned during a first or subsequent session of FMQ on you DSM?? Tips? Tricks? Giggles?? I felt like you were describing me! I found during and after learning fmg that the seam ripper is your friend! |
[quote=
O.K. What is DSM?[/quote] DSM = Domestic Sewing Machine. Any standard sewing machine, not short/mid/long arm machine. |
Originally Posted by SewExtreme
HI Mellie,
Just this morning I was FMQ on my DSM and realized I was not as tense in my shoulders as I have been and am began to feel as though I was starting to make some progress. I have found that working in smaller areas (blocks) on doll quilts is helping me. In practicing to begin working on a doll quilt, I set up a smaller quilt sandwich to practice what was in my mind's eye. Here are a few photos to show what I was doing. Hope it helps and encourages you. I am also finding that doing the more dense FMQ in smaller areas is giving me better control for when I do a larger quilt than a doll quilt.... I hope. Side note: I do suggest a. FREQUENTLY stopping with your needle down and turning the fabric in a better direction to continue going where you want to go b. going off, if you can, to the side of the sandwich to get a fresh start c. actually getting up and go do something else for a short bit (maybe view a few topics on this board). I found I was pleasantly refreshed when I returned. :-D |
Beautiful work! You are really getting the hang of it. And that is a gorgeous print you're working with. It will be a work of art when you're finished.
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