Well, I finished my first quilt...
 

It turned out okay, all things considered. The binding is kind of terrible, but my machine really didn't like doing the binding, so I had to fudge it in spots. Also, I'm pretty sure I did a lot of it wrong. I'm really not sure I should do quilting on my machine. It's a Brother CS-6000i. I used flannel as the batting, and flannel on the back, and quilting cotton on top.

Anyway, I will definitely do the binding differently next time. I'm considering trying another, much smaller quilt, to test the limits of my machine more carefully. I know what really screwed me up was the corners. How do you do them properly? I did what made sense in my head, but after doing that, I realized that I think that was wrong. I do a lot of origami, so I was applying that kind of technique. Haha. But now I'm wondering if I should have somehow cut it (as in shape it by cutting rather than by folding) at the corners or something?

Anyway, other than the binding, I think it turned out not too bad. There were a couple of hiccups on the back where the fabric got folded over slightly. Also, my walking foot wasn't working right. I think something is loose inside, because it didn't want to come up enough to pass the fabric through, so periodically I would have to stop, lift the foot (needle down), and straighten out the fabric underneath. It wasn't a tension issue (which is what I thought at first), it was the feed dogs on the walking foot not coming up all the way. It's the walking foot that came with the machine, and the feed dogs are plastic, so I'm wondering if the quality is not great on the internal workings of the foot. Anyone else have this machine and have issues with the walking foot? I changed the needle, opened up everything and cleaned the machine, but none of that seemed to be contributing to the issue.

I did not try any free motion quilting, since it was my first quilt and I wanted to keep it very simple just for the experience. I'm a learn by doing person, so this has definitely helped me familiarize myself with the process.

Anyway, my three year old loves it, so I'm happy. =)

Oh, how I wish you had posted a photo...anyhow. Congrats on your first quilt. Sorry I do not have answer about your walking foot as I am not familiar with your machine.. Are making plans for quilt #2? Again congrats. :)

Judy in Phx, AZ

Everyone has a first quilt! I could tell you about mine, but I won't! Keep up the good work, you will learn many things from the great ladies on this board! Hope you can post a picture!!

I'll post a picture later. Camera battery is dead, but I'm putting it on the charger now. =) Judy, nothing concrete, but I do want to try something smaller. Maybe a table runner or something like that, for practice. I wouldn't be able to make a quilt bigger than the one I made, which is about 4' x 5'--way bigger than I'd intended, haha.

One thing I'm definitely going to have to consider more carefully is color selection. I ended up with too many lights on this one. I went looking for coordinating colors and didn't think about darks and lights at all.

jemsister - can't wait to see a picture! Everyone has a first quilt and some are better than others. Putting my first quilt in the 'others' category, by the way. LOL.
Can't help with the walking foot dilemma as I have never used one (and didn't get one with my machine either).
Binding is my nemesis! Cluckclucksew.com has a great general binding tutorial including how to fold those corners for that sharp edge. Google 'inklings and yarns quilt binding tutorial' for joining the edges to finish your quilt. Both of these tutorials helped me more than any when I was first getting started.
Welcome to the board!

There is a tutorial on YouTube from MQS on binding a quilt that made it look easy. I am a beginner too. After I watched the tutorial I felt like I could probably do binding. Check it out you might like the way she does her corners.
Im sure your quilt is nice and I'll look for the picture.

Almost every seam fell apart on my first quilt, so don't feel bad about your first try. I'm sure it's not that bad!:o Try watching some videos from Missouri Star. She has a great binding video.
Have fun and enjoy yourself, and keep coming here. There are so many sweet people here who are willing to help anytime. Welcome, Gina

I am finishing up my second quilt. It was years ago when I made my first quilt in a quilting class. I watch a lot of demonstrations on youtube.com for any specific thing I want to know how to do. Some times I have to watch three or four different ones before it clicks in my head. Also, a couple of people told me to get a book called Quilter's Academy to learn how to quilt. The author starts you out making very simple quilts and gives you check points on how to decide if you are doing a certain skill correctly. I am going to try and follow the book on my third quilt. I think this book is going to help me alot. You can look at it on amazon.com.

I have also been doing my first quilts on a brother cs-6000i. Can't say I've had that problem but my feed dogs are metal with just a plastic piece on top so it doesn't tear fabric. Maybe that's the difference?

Congratulations on finishing your first quilt. You learned a lot, I am sure. You will get better with each new quilt.