I've done baby quilts before and either tied them or did SID. I would like to try FMQ on my machine. (I need to practice on some sandwiches first.) This quilt is for my 9 yr old DD - she really doesn't care about the quilting so it will be perfect to practice on.

What are your suggestions for how to quilt? I'm a beginner - I need to know where to start the suggested pattern too ! Start in the middle and work out the right then do the left?

WEll I LOVE this quilt! all that KAFFE fabric makes my heart sing!

This is hard for me to tell you how to quilt it...LOL. Seems strange. I don't know why type of designs you are comfortable trying. I would try an all over if i were a new quilter...such as stipple, flowers, leaves, and swirls.

Love the bright colors....how about a all over swirl ?

What a beauty! I'm still working on getting up the courage to try FMQ. I'm so afraid that I'll just make a mess out of the tops that I've put so much time and energy into. I'm comfortable with SID or straight lines, but anything else is just so daunting!

Nice quilt, but I'm just an amatuer

Someone suggested SID for the long lines across just to secure it, then try the FMQ, in sections. Any thoughts?

Same here. I just posted a request for people telling me a good MQ book to get.
I need to learn!

That's what I normally do, I do straight stitching with my walking foot, usually in the ditch, but it depends on the quilt, you could just quilt horizontally first since your vertical lines would be zig-zaggy. Then I fmq in sections, usually from bottom to top so that I can more easily keep track of where I've been and where I'm going to. I start in the center and work my way out, only because the center is the hardest to work on because of the bulk of the quilt and I want to get the hardest part out of the way first. I'd suggest free form swirls or loops, you can make them in varying shapes and sizes and it doesn't look like a mistake.

When I first started, I found that loops and swirls were the easiest. If you want to secure it, but don't want to stitch in the ditch, you can buy some water soluble thread and machine baste it with that. Then do your FMQ and after you bind it, wash it and the water soluble thread will vanish. It may sound expensive, but it goes a long way! If you do use it, be sure to put it away separate from regular thread. I keep mine in a ziploc bag.

I would meander it. it is a good pattern for a beginning FMQer and also it looks great.