FMQ off to a rough start
 

I goofed around on a practice piece just long enough to tweak tension for different colors on the front and back.

If I don't just jump right in I'll chicken out!

It's not pretty, but it'll get better as I go.

Haven't FMQ since January and this is only my second FMQ quilt.

Luckily I only use inexpensive materials.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]550292[/ATTACH]

From what I can see the quilting looks great. Hope the back is the same.

Don't beat yourself up. That looks great. Can't wait to see it finished.

What is it that you feel looks "rough"? It looks good to me. Perfection doesn't happen overnight & no way did my first attempts at FMQ look anywhere close to that good. Plus, feather motifs are an intermediate pattern so you started out with a pretty big challenge.

The one thing I would definitely recommend if you aren't already doing it is to be sure to SID before you start. For SID, I use a 50wt/2-ply thread by Aurifil in a matching color (or if I plan to quilt a design over the seams, I use YLI water soluble thread). Having SID/foundation quilting will give you a smooth, straight "palette" to work on for your FMQ. It will reduce shifting & also better secure the seams. That & marking my quilts made the biggest difference in my FMQ after I got my DIY sewing table so my machine sits flush with table top. If you quilt on a DSM, there are a few inexpensive tips I found helped before I made bigger investments:
1) I built up area around sewing machine using slick chocolate boxes & waxed paper-covered shirt boxes that I taped to each other & my machine bed with masking tape. Having even an extra 18-24" level with your machine to left & behind will make a difference. And yes, I personally made the sacrifice of eating all those chocolates -- anything to improve my quilting. :p
2) Buy Machinger's gloves or cut fingers off of grippy kitchen gloves or use 4-6 "Secretaries' Fingers" to help you get a grip on your quilt.
3) Change your needle every 8 hours of quilting or as soon as you notice a popping sound or crooked stitches. For Aurifil 50wt, I like Microtex needles in size 70/10 or 80/12. I've also used Quilting needles and those are great with poly and poly/cotton blend battings, but I've found that Microtex tends to work best for me with 100% cotton battings -- but try them both & see what works for you (some people prefer a Topstitch needle w/ large eye).
4) To best hide stitches that are slightly uneven lengths, choose a cotton batting. The crinkly look that cotton gets after a trip through the cold gentle washer/low heat dryer will hide that pretty well if you use a matching 50wt cotton thread (Aurifil is really amazing, but Gutermann 100% cotton is also decent -- just more linty).

And the most important tip of all -- cut yourself some slack! Quilting, like any skill, takes time to master. Enjoy the process of learning & all your beautiful creations along the way! We learn from all those mistakes so unless it's a competition quilt or there is some issue with stitch formation, I leave the stitches in & just keep on quilting. This quilt is better than your last one & the next will be better than this one. Each quilt tells a story about your journey toward mastery of FMQ and some day you'll be able to look back with fondness at these quilts and how they brought you to that point. :thumbup:

Bree123. What great advice for all of us beginners. Thanks

Interesting advice Bree123. With beginners trying FMQ, try to keep you thread on top and in the bobbin the same. Your stitching will be uneven and the bobbin will pop up occasional. If the thread matches, it won't show. That is why these BSR are so popular.

Looks good to me! I have a new quilting machine ordered. I know I will have to practice a lot before I learn how to make it look decent. I want to just jump in and quilt my quilts, but I'm not as good as you are yet.

BREE123 Thanks for the tips. I was so happy to learn one should SITD first. Makes perfect sense but not something I would have thought of. I'm just starting to learn and you are the first one to mention that!

DRESI I Love what you have done.

looks good to me!!!

It looks pretty neat to me. No way could I have done that on a second try.
I still try and avoid different coloured threads because there is almost always a peep of the wrong colour on both sides. I've never SID prior to FMQ. I think I will give it a try to make the whole process a bit easier. Thanks for the tip.