Free Motion Quilting

I love sewing with my 15-90 treadle.  I have been making slip covers (update to follow).  Today I finished the fourth of eight and decided that I wanted to try something else.

I had a mini quilt sandwich pinned together.  It is stenciled with a design and I thought I would try.  I did it.  I have a lot of practicing to go but I thought it isn't too bad for my first attempt.

 Now I realize that this is very rough and that is ok.    I fell down a lot when I first learned how to ski. 
 I did not expect to be an expert first time on the slopes.  Likewise with FMQ.   I have to say, though, that it is a bit easier to control the speed of the machine with the treadle vs an electric machine.  I have done this before using my Viking Husqvarna Quilt Designer II.  But it has a speed control.  I like treading much better. 

I used wax paper on the bed of the machine and on the treadle stand, too.

I used some machine quilting gloves to give me better grip on the fabric.  The edge is hard to manage.  I have to figure that out.  

I proved to myself that I can do it.  Now it is just practice, practice, practice.

On the other hand, I am much better at FMQ on the GMQ frame.

True, I have had more practice but I do think that it is easier to move the machine than it is to move the fabric. 

I am using the Singer 66 for this project.  I love the stitch it is making.  I also love how much room I have to quilt !  When I used this frame with a free arm White Jeans Machine, I had a narrow quilting area.  The 66 affords a much larger space.  It was for that very reason that I spent SO MUCH TIME setting up the 66.