crafty pat

It is like a lot of other things you have to learn to do, practice, practice, practice. I used a lot of scrap sandwiched blocks to learn. I made several baby quilts as my first projects. You will get it just keep at it and remember none of us started out perfect and most of us still make our share of mistakes.

callen

I have been quilting for 3 1/2 years & consider myself just past the beginner stage. I am very fortunate to have a very supportive husband & circle of friends who all think my work is fantastic. I am very intimidated by FMQ so to this point I only do simple designs, mostly straight or diagonal lines. I like echo quilting & like the look of outlining my designs with straight stitches. I have reconciled myself with "I would rather say I did the whole thing myself (even with simple quilting designs)" than have to send it out for a pro to do the quilting. I am in no way, criticizing anyone who sends it out but I just would rather not. I do enjoy the feeling of accomplishing something all by myself even though I don't have elaborate quilting designs on my quilts. That's my story & I'm sticking to it. LOL
Don't be so hard on yourself & eventually you (& maybe even me) will gain enough confidence to tackle FMQ.

nancia

I put it off until i was forced to quilt my first dgd's first quilt ( started before she was born and given to her on her first b'day) and the start of all this quilting madness! Someone said, have a glass of wine, turn on some music, and have at it. Omg! Who knew it was so much fun!! Now i sing as i quilt so i can establish a rhythm. I try not to sing loud enough for others to hear, but the battle hymn of the republic works really well for a large meander! Just relax and enjoy it, you may realise it's the most fun of all! Or you may decide it's worth the money to send them out! Lol ! Straight lines are harder than loops! Draw them on paper first so you get in the groove, and them draw them on the fabric-- with the thread in the machine, and presto! You are quilting!