Quote Originally Posted by Rosie59 View Post
I too am relatively new to quilting (about a year now) and have only ever done straight line quilting. I share your agony though as I also am always frightened before I start quilting that I will ruin the good work that I have done on the top and sometimes back. I don't know if this is recommended by more senior quilters but I usually increase my stitch length to 4.5 (normal sewing is 2.2 on my machine). I have practiced free motion quilting on scraps but haven't mastered it enough yet to give it a go on one of my quilts. Good luck and be brave!
Oh Rosie, I too have been quilting only a year and have mainly done strait line quilting. I LOVE piecing the tops but dread the quilting part. I just finished ripping out three full boarders of quilting, and wish I would have read your post about lengthening your stitches before I had originally stitched those boarders! Mine were tiny and tight and such a pain to remove. But, it's done now and so I will lengthen my stitch before I redo them correctly. The cuteness potential was the only thing that saved this quilt.