FMQ class is in session! It’s been more than a hot minute since I last did any FMQ.
We had orientation on Wednesday morning to go over what to expect the next 12 weeks. During orientation, HollyAnne recommended a certain brand of quilting gloves along with specific needles and thread.
Intrigued by the gloves, Sadie & I took a field trip to String & Story so I could try on the gloves. Glad I did. I have short stubby fingers with a wide palm. I typically buy medium quilting gloves to fit my hand and the fingers are always too long. The Swan Amity gloves come in 4 sizes. Their size chart recommended I purchase the XSmall based on my finger length. The Small offered a more comfortable fit around my palm, with the fingertips still being a reasonable length. I purchased a size Small.
While in the shop, I met HollyAnne and asked about the recommended FMQ feet for the class. She encouraged me to experiment with all of my FMQ feet to see which one works best for me. The hopping foot gets the job done. However, I’ll stick with the Janome convertible free motion foot with the open toe or ruler foot. The Janome foot’s much smoother because there is no spring action involved as with the hopping foot (can you say bounce?). I set my speed control lever at the 2/3 mark and lowered my feed dogs. With the hopping foot, I achieved best results stitching at 1/2 speed with the feed dogs up. I can honestly say having quilting gloves that fit well makes a noticeable difference.
We were told that practice is what gives confidence and we’ll be doing a LOT of practice in this class.- 30 different motifs to be exact. I’ll definitely be busy!
Come Stitch With Me 