Josh’s Quilting Tip #6

LeahDay

Leah Day has been teaching online since 2009. She's the creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog filled with thousands of quilting tutorial videos. Leah has written several books including 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, Explore Walking Foot Quilting with Leah Day, and Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt.

9 Responses

  1. Kim says:

    As a beginner myself, I have found Josh's commentary to be awesome. It really inspires me to practice more and not give up. His tips have been great! Please keep up the good work, Josh, and keep the tips coming. 🙂

  2. Sew, Josh, Sew! Dang it – I missed your tips 2-5. I'll have to go back and find them. Have a super day!

  3. Great advice and observation. I'm inspired!

  4. Big Martha says:

    This is SO true Josh. I've been hand quilting a monster top my Sister and Grandmother pieced. I call it a monster because it's so poorly done. It's my Quilt from …well you know where! i sat down to practice my FMQ some today and boy…my work was laughable. So bad, I couldn't even rip it out to reuse my sammie. I tossed it in the GI can. Thanks for all your help with the tips and tricks. It really makes a difference to us beginners.
    Melanie

  5. Anonymous says:

    This is why even for experienced free motion quilters it's a good idea to start with a warm-up square before quilting on your project.

  6. Way to go Josh! It is true, the more you do it the smoother it becomes, Leah set the right tone in her Crafty class I took, made all the difference for me to just 'let go' and go smooth!

    Love FMQ because of Leah, she's simply the best!

  7. marj k says:

    A flintknapper (arrowhead maker) told me the same thing – at least 15 minutes a day to keep the muscle memory alive — its easier and faster to lose the ability than to spend 15 minutes maintaining it — as evidenced by Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers" — it takes a ton of repetition to be an expert at anything.

  8. Sue Maxon says:

    I was new last year but free motioned quilted almost daily from July through November. Took 7 months off and it didn't take more than a 10" swatch to remember. Now, I did know how to sew already, which helped. But I think, the point is, once you get it down, you can leave it for a stretch and almost pick up where you left off, like riding a bicycle. Don't dispair, Josh!

  9. lw says:

    This has convinced me that due to my 2.5 hour commute to and from work, that I will be sending my quilts out since I have no prayer of regaining and improving my current quilting skills. It's fun to watch your progress; when I retire in a few years, I'll give it another go.

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