dunster

How old is the grandson? Will he even know the difference? If not, I would just finish up the quilt, give it to him with love, and then practice FMQ on some quilt sandwiches.

traumaRN

Never, ever give up. Every inch you sew is more experience and I'm sure you are much more critical of your work than anyone else would be. I remember I tried to machine quilt an antique quilt top I bought at an auction. Many years later when I realized what I had done I picked out everyone of those awful machine stitches and started over. You would never know to look at it now.

Tartan

It will be a lot of work to take out the quilting but it can be done. The holes should fill in when laudered. I find that meandering is difficult as a starter pattern. I started with a couple of patterns that give you a place to rest as you quilt. A simple loop de loop gives you a place to rest or an ocean wave effect. The more machine quilting you do, the better you will get. I can now do a nice meander with nice cruves.

deedum

Just relax!
Find a good movie and cuddle up to your seem ripper! Make sure you have a good quality seem ripper.
Regroup,it will be fine.

FM is something that takes time, get some large felt squares and just practice on that, then put in diffrent color of thread and pratice again. and again. Become best friends with your machine :) You will get there!

cattailsquilts

Oh, don't give up! I can't FMQ on my regular machine to save my life. Every time I try, it comes out horribly. I'm one of the lucky ones, I have a short-arm & quilt frame. I can FMQ on that thing like there's no tomorrow! :D But ruler work, straight lines, SITD, cross hatching, etc? Not a chance.

It takes time, patience and practice. And some wine & chocolate. :)

carolaug

First...do a pot holder, then a place mat...make sure you have good gloves and a supreme slider. Those will help you with your rounded corners. You also can pick them apart...I have many, many times....and redid them. Also when you wash your quilt many of your errors you see prior to washing disappear. Keep practicing! You will love FMQ'ing once you get use to it.

Mitch's mom

Don't give up - you are a quilter not a quitter! Take Shelley's advice and Skin it. It won't take too long to do.

kiffie2413

From a fellow "newbie" as far as free motion quilting, "Don't give up!!" I have been really working on my fmq, and what has seemed to really help is quilting smaller projects, like I am making the calendar squares from Connecting Threads, they are about 12" squares...I also use basting spray, only 505 brand...I have now moved up to lap quilt size, and while I may have to pick out a few of the stitches, for the most part it looks ok...we are usually our own worst critcs, so please keep that in mind...my quilt "sisters" from my group had told me to quit taking my stitches out, and leave it alone!! And, actually they were right...Lastly, I have several quilt books, but the best one I have found is: Show Me How to Machine Quilt, a Fun No-Mark Approach, by Kathy Sandbach. It is a great book, has actual pics of free motion quilting done by the author, and you can tell they are free hand...it also has lots of design ideas. Latest prices I saw on Amazon were 4 to 10 dollars...that is where I got mine.
Take care, and good luck to you...

LadyElisabeth

Just remember ALL of us started sometime, someplace, somehow. ALL of us make mistakes even after miles and miles of stitches.

Candy Apple Quilts

You could try leaving everything just the way it is, and laundering the quilt a couple of times. You may be surprised how nice it turns out after it softens a bit. Then, if there are any little places that you just can't stand, you could try placing some applique over top of just those areas. Keep practicing, you'll be happy with your meandering soon. Don't give up! :D