That is a great size to begin with. I think many of us can sympathize with being overcome with fear when considering FMQ. It took me over a year to talk myself into it, probably longer. And after my first 2 attempts it took me another year to try it again. Thankfully I have persistant friends (and encouraging!) and I hate the thought of giving up on something. Plus there is that pesky budget thing. If I could afford to send my quilts out to someone else I very well may have ended up never doing FMQ. Yet, after giving it another go around, I've discovered I can do it and it just takes a lot of practice, at least for me. I'm at the point now where I'm not afraid to show others my work. If a pillowcase size seems a bit big, start on something like pot holders, which are small and no one cares what they look like since they usually end up stained and are tucked away out of sight when not in use. This is meant to be encouraging but if it only scares you more, ignore my post and go ahead and try it. If you hate it, give it to a friend who doesn't quilt and who will think it's amazing. ;)

Thank you! potholders sound great and I have several ready to just try. I will give you a hug.

I will accept that hug! I can never have too many of those and it's good for the health. :D

I agree, potholders are a great size...but I dont think the pillow is too big either. I think one of the keys is having some way to support the weight of whatever isn't under the needle at the time. So...make sure you have plenty of space on the table on your left side. Good luck!

This is so true! I actually pull my ironing board over when I'm ready to quilt. I lower it to match the height of my table and that way while I'm quilting my quilt doesn't hang over the edge of the table and yank my quilt about. I just hate it when that happens! And it usually takes me a few minutes to realize the problem and by that time my stitches have become all herky jerky. :evil: The ironing board trick has saved me a lot of frustration!

Me too Tiff....I did my 1st FM with my machine on top of the washer/dryer with my ironing board stuck out in front to match the height. I had to stand up to sew...its the only place I had in the house at the time :roll: I still use the ironing board no matter where I drag my machine!

Looks wonderful to me. The 'quilting' part of these projects have eluded me....I'm kinda new at the art.

I gave my daughter for Christmas 2 table runners, that I had practiced machine quilting on. I knew she was a safe bet of maybe not laughing at me till she had tears. They were pretty actually and I tried really really hard on them but just in case they were going to family members and my daughter won out. My mother gets the next batch! It is like anything else practice practice practice and then enjoy the memories and the laughing until you almost pee your pants. LOL Bethy

A glass of wine, maybe two,I've got to try this ...LOL

Now that's the spirit! (Notice the pun?) :wink: