leatheflea

When micro stippling you must BLINK AND BREATHE! Both have serious side effects if you don't! Your reading glasses become basically useless due to the tears that well up in your eyes -due to the intense staring and failure to blink. At this point you're afraid to blink for fear your tears will wash away your blue water soluable marker that you've used on other parts of the quilt. So you stop breathing? I don't understand this but it happens! So finally you'll shut off the machine lower the needle hoping you hit the right spot while looking through your tear filled eyes. Man intense! Quilting is supposed to be relaxing! This may be the first and the last time that micro stippling is used by me. No quilt is worth the tears and the headaches(from lack of breathing). Seriously I can only quilt for about 5 minutes and then I need a break to blink and breathe easy for a while. The cause of all of this craziness? YOUTUBE, they make it look so easy. Now that I think about it those videos are usually 5 minutes or less...yep they too must be taking a BREATHER. They should put warning labels on those quilting videos! SURGEON GENERALS WARNING...WATCHING THIS VIDEO COULD CAUSE VISION AND BREATHING COMPLICATIONS...PROCEED WITH CAUTION AND AT YOUR OWN RISK. Well I'm back to the "Table of tears" Thanks for listening to me whine, and remember to blink and breathe!

DogHouseMom

Ha ha! We all have our own strengths and weaknesses don't we. Personally, I can micro-stipple much easier/faster/better than I do large stipples. I hate large stippling, but I'll micro all day long.

Tashana

In the beginning, I did not breathe at all while I was sewing on the machine. I am glad I outgrew that habit, it was not very comfortable one...

Tartan

Too funny! Yes, some of the videos do make it look easy. I like doing a small stipple but I don't know if I could micro stipple.

dublb

Ya got me laughing! I can FMQ, but I can't make stipples at all. So my hat's off ta all 'o ya'll that can! Please breath & blink though 'cause we like ya.

leatheflea

Well do tell how can you see where you've been? I've got good lighting but it seems to wash out the thread, and I'm using a 100 wt thread that makes it harder to see. Now I can do large stipples all day...not that I'd want to.

leatheflea

I can free motion all day and breathe at the same time...as long as it's not micro stipple!

Jingle

I have done a large stipple, just can't get the hang of the small stipples. If I don't relax while I FMQ it will show on my quilt, tight crappy looking.

HilaryK8

GOOD TIP! Newbie here and thanks for the surgeon generals warning. HAHA. And I completely agree that you tube makes it look easy! But you learn by doing.

quiltjoey

I love to do fm stippling. I feel it a sense of freedom after trying to get blocks and corners matching which is so perfecting some times...That stresses me...