So maybe you saw my Happy-Mail video the other day when I opened a package in my car and was just tickled pink to have gotten a copy of Tracey Russell’s newest book Free Motion Quilting 101.. I promised a more in-depth review and here it is!
Tracey’s book is a well done, self-published look at her innovative free motion quilting design work in action! Check it out here at her website.
100 pages and motifs of quilting instruction that will knock your socks off.
This book is a direct riff off of her very popular daily Youtube series where you can see these designs in action. The book adds to this by giving you something to trace, study and use to increase your muscle memory as you work your way through the options. Check out one of her fun and helpful videos right here!
As for the book. This is a very well done print job, with both a nice spiral bind as well as good heavy paper and excellent color and print quality. Plenty of room on each page for you make some notes and the illustrations are large enough so you can really understand how the motif in constructed.
Best yet I have one to give away!.. Drop a comment below telling me the most difficult part of free motion quilting for you and you will be in the hat for a chance at your very own copy of Free Motion Quilting 101 by Tracery Russell!
most difficult part for me is my not great machine that only lets me do so much and then gets all balled up!!!
The hardest part for me is to just relax and go with the flow. At first it was hard not to quilt myself into a corner!!
The hardest part for me is de icing what will look good on a quilt. I have a BQ to do right now and it’s really hot me stumped I would love this book. I e been following Tracy all along.
I love free motion quilting on other peoples quilts and would really love to be able to do it. The difficult part for me is where to go next after the first pattern…I guess I need to doodle some more.
The hardest part for me is just jumping in and DOING it! I’m such a perfectionist I’m afraid of “messing it up.”
I love FMQ and having ideas to work from would be awesome! I loooove her videos!!!
I have trouble visualizing the pattern to the space. Seeing the big picture is rough.
The hardest part for me is getting over the fear of it messing up and second guessing my designs. Still new with the longarm, but love it.
Hardest part once I decide what to quilt is keeping it smooth, too many unintended angles in my swirls. Thanks
Coming up with new ideas!
The most difficult part of free motion quilting for me is the time required to practice. My quilting time is limited, and I don’t really feel like using my precious quilting time to practice free motion. I love piecing. So far my FMQ has been very limited. I usually pay a longarmer to quilt my tops.
Love The videos she is absolutely fantastic. The worst part of free motion quilting for me is the peppling, my circles never really look like circles!
I want to say that the hardest part for me is getting started. I am afraid of screwing up.
Deciding which design fits the quilt
The most difficult part for me is to keep a consistent size of the components of the motif. The longer I quilt, the smaller the components become. Then I have no design left!
The hardest part for me is that my feed dogs don’t lower!
The most difficult is getting my hands to work as well as my brain.
Hardest part for me is decided ng what designs to use.
I wish my machine had stitch control, I want my free motion stitches to be even. crystalbluern at tds dot net
For me the hardest part is planning where to go next with the design. (and not going faster than my brain can plan)
The hardest part of FMQ for me is feathers. I still need a lot of practice.
The hardest part for me is having enough patience when coming up with a design and sticking with it and most of all, keeping the stitches even…
Deciding what design to put in a space.
The hardest part for me is getting out of my comfort zone to try new stitch patterns.
The most difficult part for me is deciding on which motif to put in which space. I am not a long armer (no room for it), but do free motion quilting on my Bernina 630. This book sounds like something that I would really be interested in.
The whole process is difficult and frustrating to me! My stitches are uneven and “jerky”, I can’t seem to get a nice curvy edge to save my life, my shoulders get all stiff and tense from hunching them up around my ears, and yet I WANT so badly to learn this technique that it hurts! I will not give up!
Thread tension and controlling the size of the stitches. I don’t have a flat surface on my machine, so avoiding drag is an issue.
My hardest part is spacing between the motifs . Need to work on that. I try to practice every,so put me in the hat for the free copy.
I have trouble with tension issues and speed control (or lack of control LOL).
The fact that I don’t have a walking foot for my old machine. 🙁
my biggest challenge is not feeling confident in my ability to free motion
The hardest part is deciding what design to stitch!! I watch her videos and I bet her book is great too!!
Staying evenly spaced is my biggest challenge.
My most difficult part is deciding WHAT to quilt. Sometimes the quilt is generous and tells me what needs to be where. But most of the time, I use the “sit and stare” method of thinking what to quilt.
Sure, I have reference books and blogs and pictures and diagrams … but sometimes all of that just doesn’t suggest a motif that will work.
So, I continue to collect reference sources and I would just LOVE to have a copy of Tracy’s new book! 🙂
For me the hardest thing is to stay relaxed enough ~ ~ my neck keeps getting shorter and shorter and the speed varies ~ ~ hmm. practice, I’m sure 🙂 I’d love Tracy’s new book!!
I have trouble filling large open spaces
The hardest part for me is just starting! I sit there and look at the project and just freak myself out of doing it at all. I’m so afraid of ruining my project.
I have to remember to breathe. And to relax my shoulders.
Thread tension and speed control
The most difficult part for me is deciding on the right pattern of stitches, do I want an allover pattern or individual patterns to match piecing.
Figuring out what to do in certain areas like sashing or something new that Rocks. Tracy’s stuff rocks been watching her videos and I wish I could visit her! or take a class even though I don’t longarm yet. I do on my regular Babylock.
Hardest part for me is using rulers. I have to practice more!
The most difficult part for me is figuring out what I want to do and jumping in.
My biggest challenge is overcoming my fear of messing up! I soooo want the design replicated in perfection and when I goof, I hesitate and goof more! and then stop and get out the seam ripper, ha! So,,, I do not practice free-motion enough. What’s the saying: practice practice practice makes perfect!
The hardest thing for me is staying neatly in the area I’m trying to fill, like feathers in borders. I need all the help I can get!
I think the toughest part slowing down enough, mentally, to think about what I am doing. No cure for that besides, practice. Also, stopping and starting to take out pins. I am tempted to try spray basting.
My biggest challenge is no machine to quilt on! I have a 30 year old machine from Montgomery Wards & recently got a tiny Brother I can’t drop the feed dogs on. ☹ Temporary issues.
Just a beginner without a long arm.
Awesome! Looks like a great resource book!
My most difficult part is starting and coming up with ideas for the space. I happened onto Whirls and swirl’s videos and now I feel overloaded with ideas. Love the thought of having choices.