Playing with Speed

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.

10 Responses

  1. Janet O. says:

    I love how you help keep things in perspective. It is just thread and fabric and batting. I know it all costs money, but most of us have scraps and I am trying to practice with ugly thread colors I have leftover from clothing projects of years past. I was so afraid to jump in that I finally took classes and it really helped me. What you have said here makes me think of learning to drive with a clutch and the time it takes to coordinate the clutch and gas pedals. That is how I feel it is learning to coordinate your hands and foot in FMQ. You start out really jerky, but with practice it becomes second nature.

  2. Can I say I love the humor you put in your info! It makes it so fresh to read! I am that gal, too! As always thank you for your insights!

  3. Leeanne says:

    Very detailed post. You have a great way of explaining the job.
    I bet there are some readers who would love you in their sewing room with them while they are trying this.

  4. danih03 says:

    I have found problems with this from switching from quilting small designs to a bigger scale. When I was doing the little FMQ sandwiches and quilting more densely, I hardley ever has eyelashes and my stitch length were neither to big or small. Now that I'm going for the bigger scale, I'm having the eyelashes. It looks like I will have to rework my rythem depending on the scale I use, which is typically the last thing I would think about. I have been worrying about everything else, like changing needles, thread, tension, oiling and lent cleanup. I didn't even think of this. Thanks for posting on the subject. I hope this makes sense!

  5. Carrie P. says:

    thanks for the great tips. I am practicing.

  6. S says:

    Hi Leah, I find your silliness refreshing and relatable, your explanations & photos wonderful. I'm finding worn cotton sheets are providing the perfect practice fabrics I need for these exercises 🙂

  7. Sally says:

    Leah!!! First I would like to say thank you for being a guest on my blog. http://www.sallysquiltingcorner.blogspot.com I have gotten some very positive feedback… 2nd this post is spectatular. I always learn something new everytime I read your blog… Thank you for helping out with all these tips…

  8. Wings says:

    Dear Leah, thank you for your refreshing change in sharing your knowledge of FMQ, I love it, its great.

  9. caroline says:

    There is a difference, when it comes to stopping, depending on the machine you're using. I sew on a vintage machine, which is great for FMQ, except that it does not just stop right when you let off the pedal–the motor actually winds down and will take a few more stitchs. You have to anticipate that in how you're moving the quilt and it can be a small challenge.

  10. Becky M says:

    oh, thank you so much for all this detailed information! This is exactly the kind of help I was looking for!

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