If it's not right, fix it!

I have been participating in SewCalGal's Year of Free Motion Quilting and have been very frustrated. My FMQ was like throwing darts at a wall and expecting them all to come out in some semblance of shape and form - impossible. 

I kept thinking there must be something  I could do to make things better?  I was able to slide my little finger between the quilting foot and the sandwiched quilt - even in the down position of the shank. Looking at videos online, it seemed like the foot didn't squish the fabric as in regular sewing, but it also didn't look like they had as much wiggle room.

So this afternoon I looked at the quilting foot, and decided maybe if I just tweek the arm that fits over the nut on the shank, it would allow it go down closer to the fabric.  Unaccustomed to dealing with mechanical elements, I just went ahead and twisted that little bugger upward. And then I did it again. And once more for good measure.

Wha-la! Success! Now it comes to just above the fabric, allowing the quilt sandwich to glide around the sewing area, but also giving me more control over where the needle comes down. I AM SO HAPPY!

I have suddenly gained a new-found confidence, and once I finish this blog, I am going to FMQ a table runner.  If I mess up, I can either pull out threads, or just make another and try again. I think I'll opt for making another one - I hate pulling out stitches.

Free Motion Quilting Is Not For the Faint of Heart

One of my many goals this year is to learn how to Free Motion Quilt on my domestic sewing machine.  And fortunately, SewCalGal has put together the most excellent year-long tutorial.  I've been practicing on leaves, which still leave a lot to be desired, but it's 100% better than my straight-line quilting that I have always done in the past.

Here's my first sample:

The good thing is, it can only get better from here!  And it's quite fun actually tackling my fear of FMQ and just do it!

It's not too late - you, too, can jump on board and start to hone your FMQ skills. Just click on the 2012 Free Motion Challenge logo on the right, or click here!

Controlled Chaos!

I am finally making some order out of my chaos, and it does feel GOOD! Now if I could only figure out how to keep it in order?

For me, 2012 is my Year of Learning. I have already bought enough fabric to stock the Moda Factory, so now I just need to learn how to creativity put it all together.

To that end, I've decided to take time to do two things each month:  master free motion quilting and learn new skills with quilt block construction.  And to accomplish this, my online friends have made it super easy!

First, thanks to Sewcalgal, there is a terrific program called 2012 Free Motion Quilting Class. And it's free! What's not to love about that? Plus, she has a year's worth of free motion quilting experts lined up to share their insights in how to make machine quilting a pleasure instead of the chore it now is for me.

After I signed up for the FMQ class, along came the Craftsy Block of the Month.  And it's free too!  How can we not take advantage of all this great, free instruction, right at our fingertips? 

You can still have time to jump aboard at http://www.craftsy.com/class/The-Craftsy-Block-of-the-Month/50

I'm very excited for this journey to begin. Why not jump on board, too?