susie-susie-susie

A local quilt shop offers rental on their machine. You have to take a class to learn how to use it. I put my name on the waiting list. I thought it would take a long time to get to the top of the list. They called today and I will be taking the class the beginning of June. I am so excited that I can hardly stand it. I hope that I am good at it. I can hardly type this--I keep having to go back and correct my spelling!!! Can't wait!!!
Any pointers you can offer will be welcomed. Thanks in advance.
Sue

Murphy

Congratulations. I am looking into taking lessons as well. Have fun with it.

feline fanatic

First, relax and have fun at the class and don't expect to be good at it the very first time you try. LAing takes practice, a LOT of practice. My 1st exposure to LAing was like you describe, a class at a not so LQS (a little over 1 hour one way drive for me). But the class was good, they showed me how to load a quilt sandwich and get the feel for the machine. I did free motion, wrote my name, followed a design with a laser light (like a panto only it was a small pattern and I was at the front of the machine) and Groovy boards. I loved it and knew I wanted to LA, but I realized quickly the shop was too far for me to get the needed amount of practice to get any good so I scrimped and saved and bought my own LA about 2 years later. In the mean time I drew, drew, drew and tried to get better at FMQ on my DSM. I think the drawing helps a lot more than practicing FMQ on a DSM.

the casual quilter

Be patient with yourself. It's kinda scary to run the machine for the first time. You'll probably find that you'll be holding your breath and that will make you tense up, so if you catch yourself doing that take some deep breaths to relax yourself. Try to keep your movements smooth and easy and don't try to "drive" the machine with your wrists. If you find that you are gripping the handles really tightly, and that will cause your movements to be a jerky. Give yourself time to get used to the movement of the machine and how the process feels. In a way, it's like driving a car for the first time. All will get better with time behind the wheel.

nycquilter

Also, keep your elbows close to your body, maybe play music to help keep you lighter on your feet and less taut and muscles constricted. Be patient with yourself. Breathe, as some others have said before me. Consciously. Aim for control not speed. Keep your knees bent and not locked. and finally, what I always tell my daughter: Have fun.