Last night I tried working with a new ruler and the result is less than stellar. I mean it is really bad! Before, I would have gotten on my case and berated myself. Today, I accept that I will simply pick out the bad stitching (and it is bad!) and replace it with a different something or other.

For those of you who are at the beginning stage: I started with Craftsy classes and LOTS & LOTS of doodling.

Being fairly new to FMQ, I am still in the "utility" stage, where the quilting is mainly to keep the sandwich together. I still do overall designs, mainly meandering, or loops and swirls. Eyelashing has never been a problem for me and my machine, but I do have an issue with moving too fast and getting the stitches too big, at times.
I guess when I get bored with the all-over designs, I will try to get fancier and do more designing with the quilting.

Hang in there! It takes at least 8 hours of intermittent quilting to get the feel of FMQ. Remember, don't watch your needle; it isn't going anywhere. Look ahead to where you need to go.

I purchased a sewing machine with a stitch regulator and first tried fmq in a class given by the store that I purchased the machine from. That took all the fear out of fmq. I did it on the first quilt I made. I'm still not very good at it but I keep trying.

Good for you. I have my FMQ quilt. Comparing it to the others I have gotten much better. I have quilted mostly with FMQ. Just keep doing it and you will get better. Relax if you tense up it will show in the quilting. Washing and drying the finished quilt will hide lots of flaws. Stand back a ways, remember no one is going to notice imperfections like you will. Hang in there, you will improve.