Free Motion is my Kryptonite
 

As a relatively new quilter (I've made a few among other things), I was very happy with the colors, piecing and borders of this quilt and started to think about the next step of quilting it.

I said to myself....... "Randy, you ought to try free motion quilting". " It looks really easy watching videos on Youtube".......... Boy, was I wrong !!!!! :(

I couldn't control the stitch length moving it around, width from prior stitch, straightness of stitches or making the design look as nice as the vision in my head intended. After totally ruining this quilt, I'm going to leave free motion for the true experts untill I get a little more experience and a bigger machine. My quilts look alot nicer when I'm in or near the ditch.

It looks passable from a distance, but as soon as you look close you will notice either I had to many glasses of wine or didn't know what I was doing. :shock: I'm thinking about throwing a stitch ripping party and you all are invited !!!!!!! Who's coming ??????? :D

you must save this for posterity. I just know in the future that you will appreciate this learning experience ;-)

ps, the quilt is not ruined.

Love your quilt! I'd leave it 'as is' -- quilting is a learning journey, and the ones where we learn new things are part of the trip. The white blocks give it a modern, slightly wonky feel, and it really adds texture to the quilt. We quilters are very hard on ourselves, aren't we? Can't wait to see what you do next.

i think its fantastic! you did a great job at it. i LOVE your signature LOL you made my day! good job with all those flying geese; for some reason those seen to be my nemesis and they are so simple! have a beautiful day!its all that practice that makes it worth while!

Your quilt is lovely, love the crisp clean colors! The experts on this Board have posted threads that give advice on FM quilting. They really help. Don't forget to use gloves for traction, its hard to believe how much help they provide..

First time FMQ? Honestly you did really well!!!! I would not take it out. Really beautiful quilt!!!

Fmq is my downfall too. Yours looks a ton better than what i can do.
Don't despair - I don't think the quilt is ruined at all!

Maybe I should not have said ruined........ LOL LOL :D

I'm trying so hard to get good at quilting that I sometimes forget the world is not coming to an end when things arnt perfect in my quilt. :thumbup:

Ha, ha. it looks good from here. slow movements with the quilt will keep your stitches constant and faster pedal speed. darning foot (with spring). one day try it again on practice squares. I Find gripping the quilt on either side helps. some place hands flat and move the quilt. what ever works best is what will work for you. :o

Randy, do not despair! My first FMQs were terrible! Way worse than yours- I look back at them, and the piecing is so nice, and the awful, awful quilting! But the only way to get better is to keep at it. Get some books- books really helped me a lot in the beginning. Check out Leah Day's website- Daystyledesigns.com- I learned a lot from her, too- and I use a lot of her designs.

P.s. I agree with DebbE- I like the wonky, modern feel your white blocks have. Hang in there, dude!