Anybody else give up on FMQ?
 

I've done FMQ on my domestic machine for years and have always been happy with a simple meander. However, it's still hard to maneuver the quilt even for a meander, and I'm just tired of the struggle. So, except possibly for baby quilts, I've said "uncle" regarding FMQ and now just do either straight line quilting or wavy lines with a walking foot. It looks nice and is so much easier, even on large quilts. I get done faster, with fewer skipped stitches, which is important to me because I try to build durability into my quilts. Have any of you set aside FMQ for walking foot quilting?

I hear you! When I first started quilting in earnest, I did not know what I was doing. I FMQ'd several, and was able to do quite a bit of free motion quilting without thinking. I did sky scapes in clouds, and trees, and mountains, and lake ripples, and loved the outcomes. I then switched to SITD, echo, cross hatch, angles, rays, etc. I really like the looks I can get. When I tried to go back to FMQ and meandering I find it's just too hard to wrestle the guilt and achieve what I want. I still get good results with my lines. Also, I have never had success using a walking foot! I use my general foot. I think since I started using it, I got used to doing it that way.

I had a lot of problems until I bought my Juki 2200 QVP Mini (same as TL2010) with the larger throat space. I've done a king size quilt on it with none of the problems of stuffing the quilt under the throat space. I also took an online class a few years ago for FMQ with RaNae Merrill called Free Motion Mastery which helped me a great deal. Now I really enjoy it.

FMQ just got too stressful for me, and I have trouble adjusting the tension on my machine. Now I do only walking foot quilting and send anything that needs a curvier look out to be long arm quilted. I have found that I can make gentle curves using my walking foot and can even do spirals. When I use the walking foot the stitches come out quite even, too.

Due to neck and shoulder pain, I long ago realized anything larger than baby sized quilts were going to be quilted by check. At $.02/inch, it's worth it to me.

I started quilting using my walking foot too. I got a lot of different walking foot ideas from Jacquie Gering's book "Walk." Leah Day also has an online gallery with tutorials on walking foot quilting ideas: https://leahday.com/pages/quilting-design-gallery

I love Walk! Lots of ideas! Thanks for the link! FMQ was difficult on my domestic. I tried the one block at a time quilt, and that was ok. The key to ease is throat space. And washable markers. I didn't give up, and I invested in a sit down longarm. Also learning how to make my own stencils!

I have much better luck with a walking foot too. Whether cross hatch or SITD. I can do simple meandering FMQ. BUT, that
does not always turn out great. Maybe when I win the lottery I will build a house with a huge sewing room and get a long arm 😁

I machine quilt all my quilts. I do crosshatch squares or diamonds or pencil line quilting 1/2" apart. I like to make big circles and fill in with crosshatch. Making tic tac toe like designs between bigger squares looks nice too. The main thing I found is having a machine table big enough for the quilt, and a machine that does fmq without any problems. I use an Arrow Kangaroo table and a Juke TL 2010. I wanted the Juki 2200 QVP Mini but couldn't tell any difference from the 2010 Q except color and more feet. I have no desire for a long arm because I would not load the quilt on one. Too tedious for me. They would just pile up. I know me.

I too, far prefer geometric lines or a serpentine. easier on me, easier on the machine, and I get very nice results.
I also make double sided quilts so any big effort to special free motion on one side would be totally lost on the other.

I've seen such incredible intricate free motion from domestic machines though, I know it is perfectly possible...if there is a will to practice and do it often. I'd far rather be cutting and piecing.