I began by doing the four basic shapes that Sharon Schamber shows on her beginner's free motion video. I did 3 baby quilts using those shapes, and three more charity quilts, then branched out into feathers and stuff. It really is a matter of repetition and practice. I hope to attain adequacy someday.

Pat in Rockport, TX

When you say you are doodling do you mean with the machine or with a pen/paper?

Yes, I can understand how we have to give our brain something to 'look toward' with the doodle, but that doesn't solve the problem of making your machine go where your brain/hands want it to go. I have the Sharon Schamber hoop and the Supreme slider. I use feed dogs down. I have the darning foot to the 6600 Janome. Don't yet have the new FMQ foot and bobbin, but don't think that matters until I get better control.

One of the issues is that the back of the presser foot where the Accufeed is attached hits the back of the red Schamber hoop because it's low. I guess maybe this is another instance of practice, practice. I still find I have difficulty getting the fabric to move exactly where I want it to go.

This is another lesson in patience!

Thanks for all your comments.

As I learned to machine quilt I tried various ways of quilting. Since I'd been a hand quilter my thinking was way different than it is now, four or five years later.

I tend to do the same kinds of things Ricky and others do, no marking however there are times when I do need to mark and then I use the freezer paper and an empty needle technique I learned at the machine quilting class I took.

Doodle on scraps of paper to your hearts content, that will get you lots of places on your quilts. Make practice quilts with odd blocks or left over decent size pieces of fabric and practice technique on those. The more I move the fabric under the needle the better feel I have for free motion quilting.

Judy with the BSR drop the foot tension (the tension disc on the left side of the machine) and the machine tension down to at least 1.5 and that should help as well.

I don't use a frame, I don't have the space for one and I'm not sure what I would get if I did. My suspicion is that given space and cash I'd probably purchase a longarm and leave my domestic for piecing. I read recently where Libby uses her domestic, sets the settings and then turns the machine so that it's perpendicular to herself as she's quilting.

Be mindful of your posture, if your table is too high get a seat cushion and raise the foot pedal to match the height. Relax your shoulders, for the first 6 to 8 months my shoulders and ears were constant companions making any kind of machine quilting painful!

Teri

I was thinking about using pieces of fabric and following the design but the paper is a great idea Dana. That will allow me to get a feel for the speed of the machine and speed I need to move the fabric.

Dana, will you be using the BSR? Judy in Torrance

Free motion, to me, means that you're not using the feed dogs on the machine, and that there's no pattern drawn on the quilt that you're following. I'm doing it on my treadles, using Sharon Schamber's hoop with the Supreme Slider under the quilt, and also using the Magic Bobbin thingie. YMMV.

Pat in Rockport, TX

Lynn, I"m in the process of learning to machine quilt as well. I bought a ream of cheap printer paper and every day for the past five days now, I have been filling about 25 sheets with drawings....doodles, stippling, feathers, just whatever. And I don't think about it, but try to do it free form like I would if I were machine quilting. I plan to use my Bernina and do it just free motion like Ricky does, with no hoop or frame. I am quite pleased with how much I see my drawings change for the better every day. I think the secret will be practice, practice and practice some more.

Dana in Olive Branch, MS where the fireworks at the park were beautiful.

I'm a little confused about terms and applications I guess. Since I'm in the very beginning stages of learning to machine quilt, I am wondering if FMQ is only on the machine bed and holding your hands like Ricky does when he demos.

Or is it also using a frame and a domestic machine (or I guess a LA) like I see with the frames like New English Quilter, or Flynn Frame?

Which do most of you do? And why?

Lynn