patti p

I am testing out the waters myself so to speak.... i just did my first pratice on a table runner. i had all kinds of hicups but i did enjoy the whole process. and will keep on praticing

Joy Higdon

You can do it.

michelleoc

Good advice...That being said, at the beginning of the year I joined the PileOFabric Skill Builder BOM. She teaches two blocks each month, using different skills and it is a QAYG, so we can practice FMQ on smaller projects each month. Well, I'm up-to-date on getting the blocks pieced, but still too scared to do the FMQ'ing!!

quiltingnd

Thank you! I think I needed this.

DebbieJJ

I have found out that when the quilt is finished, the mistakes are almost impossible to find, except by you.

Teacup

Joy, there are several Craftsy classes. Which one did you find so helpful?

JenelTX

Totally agree! The only way to get past the fear is to jump in. Whenever I'm afraid of a new experience, I think of the hundreds, thousands, or millions of people who have done that thing, whatever it is, and I think, "I have to be at least as good as some of them. So if they can do it, I can do it."

JenelTX

It's just fabric and thread! Relax and give it a try. Each session, I start with a practice sandwich so I can make sure the machine is running as it should. Practice hasn't made perfect yet, but you have to start somewhere!

quilttiger

Back in 2003 I started FMQ'ing on a short arm and just switched to a Bailey Pro17E. So...from what I have learned is that the more you do, the better you get. I started with practice sandwiches and just played with them...tried different threads, tensions, designs and so on. Once in a while I get out my current practice quilt to experiment or try different techniques even now. Yes, there have been times when I felt I could have done better. Yet, when I take the quilt off the frame, it looks darn good! My philosphy is that every quilt is a rehearsal for the next quilt . Just do it as my first quilt teacher said, smile.

sewbizgirl

I love the "not as perfect as a programmed long arm" look of FMQ. It looks more like it was done by the human hand, like a hand drawing.