ADKSusie

Muv, I love your quilt! I hope I can conquer my FMQ. I think I will look around for a 15 and just use my 66 for regular quilting. Thanks for all the help........I'll be back to pick everyone's brains once I locate another machine!
Sue

queenie123

I taught myself how to quilt by trial and error,my practice was on my quilts ,well maybe one quilt sandwich to set my tention to start .I told myself every stitch and pucker only give it more character ,after all its a quilt.Most say to drop the feed dogs but with my singer 201 it quilts and moves better with the feed dogs in the normal feed mode plus the stitches look much nicer .I set the tention dial to between 0and 2or less ,then I set the stitch size to medium,on my machine it would be between the middle and closer to the bottom setting ,if anyone is interested I can take the time to post pics of the machine in the quilt setting mode .I bought the sewing cabinet and stool with intentions on putting another machine in it until I did a little test run and instantly fell in love with this old machine.I took my quilts to a new quilt shop and they were shocked when I told them that I quilted them on a machine that is older than myself and I am over 50. I use any thread I have available and mainly buy the white cones from Walmart and no issues with thread breaking and I always use the universal heavy duty needles mainly because they are easier to thread with my aging eyes .I have a seperate pole thread holder I use for the big spools of thread,I bought a weighted one off e-bay .

Muv

Has anyone used a Supreme Slider on an old machine? I have looked at them online but never seen one in real life so can't imagine how they stick in place. I wasn't keen on forking out nearly thirty quid without being sure of what I'd get so I have been taking the cheap option and using clingfilm. It stays in place and costs next to zero.

Teacup

I am getting ready to try FMQ on a 201 and 301 in the near future, am trying to finish getting the machines restored and have to get one into a refurbished cabinet. I posted questions on another thread and am gathering all my equipment. I took Irish Rose's suggestion to use the heavy-weight clear vinyl like you would use to cover tablecloths. I bought some at the fabric store last weekend. Video recommending this is here: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...5790FB&first=0

nanna-up-north

You did that on a treadle?? I'm impressed!! Great job!!

deedum

I spent the money on the super slider thing, won't do it again. I ended up dropping the feed dogs on my Singer 15 and have never looked back! I suggest just get some felt and practice your speed and hand movement. You will do fine! Just in the process of finishing up a a queen size on my 15.

jljack

Very nice quilting, Muv!! I would like to see the potholders too. I am learning FMQ on my 301a, which does a great job of it....it will go slow when I need to, or go faster when I feel confident enough to go fast. But when I took a class last weekend on background fillers fMQ, the teacher told us "fast is not necessarily good...you have to keep control of the stitching, or your FMQ will be garbage and you'll break thread and needles". So, there may be more advice in that statement than I could ever come up with. I don't go fast...I really kind of poke along, and it's working out for me.

BTW...there were gals in that class with $2,500 machiens who couldn't make them FMQ to save their lives!! Broken thread, bad tension, etc. etc. etc. My little 301a just kept going along, no problems for over 5 hours of FMQ class!! There's a lot to be said for "old and basic" when it comes to sewing. LOL

Muv

Teacup and Deedum- thank you, I've watched the video. Clingfilm is working fine for the moment, and I may yet upgrade to the vinyl, but won't bother trying the slider.

Jljack - interesting that the ladies with the expensive machines couldn't do it. I've done some more FMQ today and yesterday on a wall hanging. Not perfect, but I'm pleased enough with it. When I say you need to go fast on a treadle, I mean with your feet! This way the needle moves fast, but the hand movement is much slower. Fast treadling with cotton gloves on in warm weather means you end up baking.