FMQ stands for Free Motion Quilting on Friday!

Once upon a time I took a machine quilting class. 

We made quilt sandwiches and divided them  into grids so we could practice stitching.  Since then I've filled a couple of these but because I don't practice consistently I really haven't improved much. Which is not to say that I can't trace an image if I warm up for a few hours first.  

It is usually hit or miss and I often end up ripping out lots of of teensy weensy stitches

  

or ruining promising quilts ( I should take another photo of this one so you can really see the mess.)

When I found Free Motion Friday I decided it was time to do something about improving my technique.   I cut two 24 inch squares of muslin and drew 4 inch grids, sandwiched the batting inside and pinned. You could also sew a nice grid using your walking foot so it doesn't feel left out of the fun.

What I learned:
I am going to gobble up a lot of these sandwiches.
It is easier to work from left to right than right to left or bottom to top.
I have more control if I sit with both feet flat on the floor and my body is centered in front of the needle.
I got better with practice.

Week 1 - 1st attempt

Week 1 - 5th try

So because this was working, I thought I'd get do something daring.  I took the plunge and clipped open the toe on my darning foot ala  Leah Day 's instructions. This was not as scary as I am making it sound but I do recommend protective eyewear. Then I worked on Week 2,

Week 2 - 1st attempt

thinking, "what they heck, Leah seems to be on to something, remove the bar already."  Bending it back with the pliers didn't work for me.  It felt like the whole thing would snap off.   Instead, I borrowed a pair of small heavy snips from "his" toolbox and viola! off came the offending piece. After a few adjustments with the rubberband, I was good to go.

Week 2 - not too shabby

Week 3 ( I am catching up - it is really all this week). It is Free Motion Friday. Our exercise is  Slate Tile.

Week 3  Slate Tile 1-6

What I learned:

It is harder than it appears.

It is easier to stitch curves than rectilinear designs. In order to do turn the direction of the needle, it helps to  pause each time.

I have to know where I am going in order to get where I want to go.

Where you put your hands makes a difference.  Keeping my left hand above the upper left hand corner of the work, and my right hand below the right hand corner allowed me to minimize the pressure it took to move the fabric under the needle. It also gave me more control.