Facing my fears

Well tonight I finished putting together a small quilt. I did some cross hatching ( I think that is what it's called) and I have been practicing with FMQ and decided that I was going to do some simple quilting on the border. I just did some meandering and overall for my first time on a real project, I don't think I did really bad. There are mistakes and it is not perfect but it did give me some good practice. I did run out of thread on the last side so I have to go buy more so I can finish it. I will try to post some pics so that you can give me criticism and let me know what is wrong with it so I will know for the next time. I can take whatever needs to be said. I really want to learn so be honest. I have to go to my computer to send pics..can't do it from the IPad. I'll try now but will definitely get some posted tomorrow. Thanks for any input you can give.

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Well here it is. I know its my first time and i have to be patient and practice ALOT, but any hints or comments are appreciated. thanks!

Great first attempt - well done. I've only done stitch in the ditch and cross hatching too and they are very useful but there are so many other stitches to learn and practice. Keep practising ....... you've made a great start.

I'm going on a 1 day course in a weeks time to learn the basics of FMQ! Hopefully that will inspire me to finish off some of my many UFOs!

Thank you! I bought a book that has been very helpful. She is a teacher and she has you practice many shapes which then turns into beautiful designs. I've been working on that but I was not confident enough to do any of it on the quilt yet. I guess this quilt will stay with me as encouragement to keep at it because even after the border is put on, I don't think it will be good enough to give to anyone. Maybe the next one.

It doesn't look bad at all for a first attempt. If you find your border area is a little stiff on this quilt, next time spread your FMQ out some. Tighter = stiffer in most cases. But your stitches look good.

I know I was excited when I did my first FMQ on a quilt. I'd have been mad if I ran out of thread!

You did great for your first attempt. The quilt is very colorful and cute. Good work!

Very nice
Hugs Janice

Cecile, you did great!

It looks good! I'm impressed with your first attempt. Just think what you'll produce after a few more quilts are under your belt!

I, the person who only squiggles, love it! What thread did you use? It almost looks like embroidery thread.

I think you did a great job for your first quilt.

Great job!

I'm real impressed with your loop-d-loops! Your stitches look nice and even. You'll be an old pro before you know it!

I think it looks great! It took me years to try FMQ and you did a wonderful job. Love the bright colors too.

Hugs,

You did a great job for your first time. I'm still fighting that fear. One day I'm going to face and just do it. Again Great job.

Very nice first attempt...I would be happy with it! You will learn so much at your class. It's all a matter of practice and more practice. You will see improvement with every project. Barb

I think you have done a great job for your first attempt at fmq. Keep it up and don't be afraid to try new things.
Dena

Wow! My first thought was how lovely and consistent your stitches are - that is very hard to do! Can't believe you haven't done it before! Like was said, you may find when fmq in the border that it is more densely quilted than your cross hatching so the feel will be different...you can do what you want but I've read that the quilting should try to be 'balanced' all over the quilt. Yes, I'm curious what kind of thread you used??? Beautiful job, you should be VERY proud of yourself. And the only way to learn is to just do it!

I can't see any flaws in your FMQing at all - it looks great to me. I'd add some of the same to the yellow if it were my quilt.

You should be very proud of this little quilt! It's happy and fun and you did a great job.

I am impressed. I havent been brave enough to try FMQ yet and am truly afraid to. You will be a pro in no time :)
Bobbi

Great Job on your first attempt. I love the quilt also.

Wow! Thank you everyone. I got a lot of great tips for the next time. Yes, I was really mad when I ran out of thread. I used regular quilting thread but it was a dark color that doesn't really show up very well in the picture. I did not use embroidery thread..can I use it? I didn't think you could use it for quilting. I do a lot of embroidering and have quite a few colors, it would be great if I could use it. Well, I have nothing that is pressing for chores left today, so I'm off to the sewing room for the rest of the day. Thanks again!

Oh how pretty! You did a lovely job :icon_bigsmile:

I think it looks lovely and I hope to do that well on my first FMQ on a quilt. I've only done it on wall or decorative pieces, a bit of a chicken to do it on a big quilt. lol

To balance out density on the center of the quilt you could turn the X into a star pattern by adding a vertical and horizontal line to each of the blocks. I've done that to a Space theme quilt for Project Linus and it came out really cute.

Wonderful job.

Huggers, Ruby

And I for one LOVE it, because loop d loop is my "expertise"... of course it about my only "pertise"... LOL... What a fantastic first attempt... your a natural.. keep going...

DO NOT use Emb thread... i'm pretty sure it would be something tragic happening,,, why,,, squash such a positive 1st esperience!!!!
Just wanted to add to all who are AFRAID to give it a try... i felt exactly the same way and can tell you i think i sat for about 10 min... just staring...my tip... [
think of all that might go wrong..needle break? you can change it... knots,, rip them out.. once you get it all straight in your head... GO FOR IT... it will be one of 2 things... you'll say... Wow,, that was a blast... let me try again,, OR.... ugh, what a chore,,, and unless your a glutton for punishment.. you'll know whether you like FMQ or not!!!! simple right???QUOTE=GrammaBabs;148519]And I for one LOVE it, because loop d loop is my "expertise"... of course it about my only "pertise"... LOL... What a fantastic first attempt... your a natural.. keep going...[/QUOTE]

I'm new at this too and have only done criss cross (or diamond?) I think it looks great! I'm going to look into the stencils because I can't afford a long arm and i like to follow lines. lol

Lorie

I think your FMQ looks great..........it looks like you have been doing this for awhile. I like the hot pink and yellow next to each other...it looks great! Congratulations!

It looks very nice....I wouldn't be able to tell it was your first FMQ quilt! Keep on keeping on!

Looks good to me...love the pink color.

Thank you everyone! GrammaBabs, I didn't think I could use embroidery thread, which is too bad because I have so many beautiful colors. Hulamoon, I can't afford a longarm either but I don't think I would get one even if I could, I like doing a project from start to finish and I think that quilting it is going to be such a great part of the satisfaction to say I did it myself. I have a great book that I am learning from, if you want the name of it just let me know. Again, thank you everyone for the encouraging words.