Oh I still have a long long way to go but once I practiced some this was my first square I was "ok" with.....

I learned that the harder and tighter I grabbed the material the more resistence there was and that if I lightened up my grip it flowed better - I had it going well with no puckers until the end....but everyone is right - this is all about practice once you get the machine set up correctly

I would be so happy if I could only this well

Yeah!!! I'm so glad you are trying it. Just don't give up. :) Your doing great.

Excellent start. Good for you!

Thats good. I am also learning FMQ and I do ok till I get poked with a pin and then I end up with a big stitch and blood!

That's exactly what I need to do. Get some muslin and batting and just practice!! I always think I can save the practice and wait until I'm actually quilting. (But then there's wasted time with the seam ripper....)


You are doing great.

You did great. I get more of those points when i try.

I have found it is much easier with my quilting gloves.. I dont " fight " the fabric as much..


good job.. I still won't show my FMQ efforts...

still plugging away at it thou!!!

keep up the good work!

Ditto
You are doing great!

you go girl!

wow. if my first efforts were that good!

Congraulations on your FMQ. I do great on small pieces and I have taken a couple of classes at my LQS but I can't seem to work on bed size quilts. That is my ultimate goal but I keep practicing on 45" x 45". You have encouraged me to do some more practice. Thank you.

Gotta start somewhere. I'm far from expert but found that if I go too slow I screw up more. Seems I get a better rhythm if I go faster.

Well done, you will have it mastered in no time!

I was just thinking the same thing - the slower I go the more pointed and "weak" it looks.

I may have to get some of those gloves - I've now heard from 3 different people that they make a difference....

very good...I'll practice more tomorrow..spent one hr today doing continueous circles

Quilting gloves. Fast machine speed and slow even movements are the three things that will make a difference. And you don't have to spend a lot... ladies gardening gloves with the pebbled fingers will do to start.

Hands flat on the fabric and think of it as writing... scribbling curves.

Before I start and do FMQ I take old newspapers and a marker and I doodle and doodle and doodle... 10 minutes sometimes. It helps to relax me and it also creates what I think is referred to as muscle memory...

You've earned yourself a star for today - you've been working hard & it shows. Gloves do make a difference I find - got Fons & Porter with coupon at Joann's for < $3.00.

Lay your hands, spread eagle, oon top of the fabric,, you will have enough grip to move the fabric, but not be able to grip it tightly. Use the weight of you hands to move the fabric
One hand left of needle 1 right,, allowing about a 6" spread between your. Hands, that' s enough space to control the motion.
Great job, keep practicing,, you' ll be a pro before you know it!

I was thinking the same thing.

I'm still at the scribbling on paper stage (and failing!)...yours is looking good. I must keep practicing!

your stitching looks pretty good. i'm gonna try some sort of 'u' hoop i saw while browsing. wish i had looked at it, at least read the blurb. i haven't the 'touch' for fmq yet, even with gloves. will try finding this hoop again. when you guide this, your hands are in the proper position to guide it. might do for me.

I saw one of those - octi-hoop or something like that...looks to me like it would be harder...my Mom was laughing at me about all of this - she said she expected nothing less than for me to sit down for 5 or 6 hours and get to where I could at least do a basic pattern and not stop until I got it....she said one time I spent 4 hours on the floor shuffling cards until I got it down and could do it without losing any of them from the deck! Didn't realize I was like that - so I told my husband and he and my kids are all still laughing shaking there heads.

I think the hardest part is not being scared of it...once I got past being scared of it - it just started flowing....

Oh and someone posted to use pledge on the deck of your sewing machine - so I did and it really worked moved the material along smooth (plus my machine smells lemony fresh now).

i just got a machine a month ago that will allow me to quilt, and i have been going crazy with table toppers, etc etc. have done a couple quilts now as well, and yup, practice is what it takes! those gloves....they are a lifesaver!! i fought the fabric it seemed and some of my meandering circles would just whoosh! go fast when the fabric rolled smooth...the gloves make all the difference in the world! the little grippers on them make it much easier to control the fabric and i noticed a difference immediately. i love the idea and thank you very much about doodling for a few minutes before you start; i am making a quilt now for my 'second mom' before surgery and i will try that before i start in on it! you are doing fantastic! and hello from idaho :)

I'm thinking you MUST ba a "first born"....LOL

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I'm thinking you MUST ba a "first born"....LOL[/quote]

Yep that is me....hum come to think of it my first born is like that too!!