25 Free Motion Quilting Ideas: Part 2

 Thanks for stopping by! I hope you  love FMQ as much as I do. Thanks for stopping by! While you are here, check out my book, Vintage Quilt Revival, consider subscribing to new posts by email (in the side bar to the right), or  Welcome to Part 2 of 25 Free Motion Quilting Ideas. Make sure to check out Part One and Part Three as well.Most free motion quilting patterns fall into one of the following categories: Circles, Lines, & Curves. Today is all about lines--straight lines, wavy lines, echoing lines, lines with sharp corners, lines with fluid corners, lines that intersect and lines that don't--you get the point!A few quick tips when you are free motion quilting (fmq) lines--sketch out the fmq before you start stitching. Sometimes, I print out a photo of my quilt, and actually try to sketch the quilting to scale. Trust me, it is much easier to erase pencil marks than unpick stitches for a quilting pattern that just doesn't "work" with your quilt top.It's important to realize that your stitching won't be perfect--don't stress about that! Practice might not make perfect, but practice will definitely make it better. If there is a quilt you absolutely want to be perfect, then send it to be longarmed :)  My motto lately is this: Done is Better Than Perfect. (Thanks,  Di, for reminding me of this!)If you are stitching straight lines with 90 degree (ish) angles, stitch a straight line, then hesitate just a bit in one place before turning the corner. Don't hesitate too long, or your thread might break, but hesitating just a second helps you to get 90 degree angles instead of curved corners.And most importantly, have some fun with your quilting!