indycat32

I recently purchased a Simply 16 on the studio frame. I'm looking for some good FMQ instructional books. So far I have
501 quilting motifs;
Machine Freehand Patterns by Nan Moore;
Quilting Inside the lines by Pam Clarke;
Free Motion quilting made easy by Eva Larkin; (I like this one; she uses numbers and arrows to show the pathway of the design)
Easy and Fun free motion quilting by Eva Larkin (disappointed in this one, the entire book is stippling); and
Free motion meandering, a beginner's guide to machine quilting by Angela Walters.

Any others you can recommend? Thanks.

tallchick

I think the best thing to do is practice on paper drawing and doodling (the the cheap kids drawing pads) and load up some muslin and just go for it! Practice builds muscle memory and also give you a better feeling for your machine and the different threads. You can draw simple sample blocks on the muslin and use that as a guide as well. YMMV, but I have had much success in getting many a practice muslin quilt and then binding it and using for a moving blanket, or for fur babies, have fun!

feline fanatic

I agree with tallchick. Books like you describe are good for getting ideas and some are good to give you an idea of how to make designs continuous. You already have quite a few that seem to do that. I found a lot of the books and guides I bought early on, I don't use at all and a few I never used.

Instead, you should decide what kind of quilting you want to get really good at. Say for example feathers. Seek out quilting bloggers who teach feathers. Or on line tutorials, (there are tons of them!) Then practice drawing them in the same manner you would quilt them. Before you know it you will be quilting feathers in every shape and direction

I don't think you should spend any more on books until you find out what style of quilting you really like, then, by all means, beef up your library.

indycat32

Thanks for the advice. I am practicing my doodling on paper and on my machine. So far, I've found I get lost on "which way do I go next". That's why I liked the Eva Larkin book. It shows which way to go. I'll watch more videos and practice, practice, practice.

PaperPrincess

I have read somewhere that after mastering a motif, the next hardest thing is where to go next! When you practice, use the largest piece of paper that you can get so you are comfortable moving to the next area and can doodle the entire sheet. If you have a local paper, they may sell short rolls of news print.

cindi

Pinterest is your friend for this! Search “free-motion quilting for beginners”. You’ll find LOTS of inspiration, videos and tutes. Then doodle them out on paper until you get the rhythm down.Anything they do on a DSM you’ll be able to do on your longarm. Once I started doing this, I found I didn’t need any books. Save your money for thread!

A tip: when drawing them out, use your WHOLE ARM, not just your hand.

quiltedsunshine

Or... you could take some classes on Craftsy. That might help more with techniques and instruction.

pewa88

There are tons of You Tube instructional videos. (I spend way too much time "learning" on You Tube.)

bjchad

Look into https://www.whirlsnswirlsquilting.ca/ . She has videos on YouTube and a couple books that go with some of the videos. She’s great. Also look into Jamie Wallen, he has videos you can buy that go step by step. Great quilter and good teacher. Also Patsy Thompson, she has videos and at least one book. Leah Day is also good.

quiltingshorttimer

I love, love, love Angela Walters Shape-by-shape books to help with ideas on quilts. Ditto DeLoa Jones' book. Amanda Murphy also has some great books that she shows different ways to do traditional blocks. But as far as knowing which way to go next, I do draw that out as it seems every quilt is a little different.
I'd also add that Kris Viera has a QuilterOnTheRun FB page where each Friday she posts a block and shows how to quilt it without "breaking thread".