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.

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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.

Thanks everyone for the advice and support!

Someday I want to venture into all over leaves and hearts and vines and stuff. I bought one of those pounce deals last month.

I kind of go one piece at a time because I'm afraid to go outside the lines.

A year ago I couldn't get the hang of it at all and couldn't figure out how to do different colors on the top and bottom the first time so definitely making progress. :)

The best tip I can offer is to cut your machine speed by half. This gives you more control on the movement of your quilt and as with driving keeps you under the speed limit. ( we all seem to have a heavy foot). LOL Always sew with needle down. That way if the quilt gets moved even a little it will still be in the right place for starting again.

Great quilting! Also some good tips here. Keep going. Your confidence will build as you do more. And we are usually the hardest on ourselves.

I always practiced on quilts too. It's so much more fun than doing a zillion practice pieces and you feel like your accomplishing something. I used my kids bed quilts (with inexpensive fabric) to practice on. They were teenagers or in college and they still love the quilts. You're quilting is a lot better than mine was. You're the only one who will notice that its not perfect. I did SITD before I did the quilting.

You are inspiring me. I too am trying to learn FMQ and have a practice piece I am working on. I have about 8 items in the "line-up awaiting to be quilted. A few placemats, 3 finished quilt tops and a couple table toppers. I think I am going to just jump in and stack them in the order of how I like them. (least first) and start to just meander away. By the time I get to the bottom of the pile, I can't help but be better! Then I will have FINISHED projects! :)

Hearts & vines are much simpler to quilt than feathers. Vines were the second thing I learned to FMQ. The only trick is to hesitate for a second when you get to the tip of the leaf before coming back down the other side (or come to a full stop). That pause is what makes a point rather than a curve.

Much better than mine. I only ventured into meander or stippling. Even that is hit or miss for me

Congrats on jumping into FMQ. It looks good to me!

Looks very good. You are braver than I am!!! Keep up the great work.

you're off to a good start

Your quilting looks great. Anxious to see it when finished.

Keep going ... yours looks much better than my 2nd FMQ quilt.

I think you're doing beautifully!

Looks very good to me. I want to work on my FMQ but have a few quilts to finish that I don't want to practise on so once they're done anything else will be my learning quilts.

Your quilting looks great, especially since it's your second quilt. Keep going. Every quilt will get better, and you'll enjoy using or gifting them along the way. When I started quilting, I just forged forward, seeing each quilt as a snapshot of what I'm capable of at the time. Now, 6 years later, I"m teaching Machine quilting and Free motion quilting at my LQS. I'm still not perfect, but I can share what I know with others to get them started on their quilting journey. Not everyone can afford to or wants to pay someone else to do their quilting.

What's done so far looks good to me. Go girl!

I think it looks great! We're all our own worst critics; don't be so hard on yourself. We all start somewhere!!

I think it looks fine. I'm like you............a beginner, and have limited designs I do well. A friend told me about a Craftsy class after I commented on her wonderful motifs of butterflies, vines, leaves etc. Craftsy classes are 50% off until Saturday, I believe, so I signed up for the class she recommended, which is: Exploring Natural Machine Quilting Motifs by Linda Bratten. Good luck. Remember practice makes perfect.
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I think it looks great. Remember practice makes perfect. I am a beginner too and just found out about a Craftsy class by Linda Bratten called Exploring Natural Machine Quilting Motifs, recommended by a fellow quilting friend. She is learning all about leaves, vines, animals, flowers etc. and really likes the class, so I signed up too. I think classes are 50% off until this Saturday, if I'm not mistaken. I have a limited amount of motifs that I do well so thought this might help. My imagination doesn't work when it comes to designing, so also signed up for a Zentangle class at the community college in hopes it will jump start some doodling on my part LOL Good luck, you are off to a great start.

We have all been there. Be patient with yourself, it will come. But, your FMQ looks good and far, far better than mine is.
Nice Job. Karen

Dresi... I think your FMQ looks wonderful and as long as you are enjoying it...that's all that matters. From the advice Bree gave, she sounds a lot like Leah Day...that we shouldn't be so critical of ourselves otherwise it will take the fun out of it. Keep up the good work!

Small things like potholders are good to get your feet wet.

I made a bunch of potholders arouns Christmas and just went to town.

I gave them to non sewing friends who just loved them because they couldn't see all the booboos.

The thought of just doing one practice piece after another was kind of disheartening to me. Potholders gave me something to show for all that effort and get to practice piecing and binding too. I did mitered corners, rounded corners and flanges too!

If I wasn't sure what to do I made little flowers and geometric designs or just followed some weird feature in a print. Smaller pieces are easier to control when you're first starting out. Go for it!

Good job...Looks good...

Looking good. Before I start to FMQ I draw the designs multiple times on paper to get the memory thing going and to figure out the best direction to go to when the need to get out of a tight space occurs. It really helps a lot especially since I don't do FMQ daily/weekly.

Looks good to me!

Thanks, Bree! I'm just now trying FMQ, so these are great tips.

It looks good from here! Don't be too hard on yourself, and just keep working at it.