Practice!

The moment of truth. Well, okay, the practice moment of truth. I'm not sewing on the real quilt yet, but this is still a big step, as it tells me how hard this free-motion quilting stuff is going to be. The first step was figuring out how to lower the feed dogs. Note to Bernina: The index should be the LAST thing in a book. Whenever I need to look something up, the first challenge is locating the index! (I really complain a lot, don't I?)

This is my first squiggle! The nose-like hitch in the first finger of the squiggle is where I realized I didn't have to twist the fabric in order to change directions--a basic, but important, realization!

I wasn't working with the biggest test piece, so I sort of squished my squiggles together more than they need to be. This one, I thought, came out particularly nice, except for those out of control, long stitches at the bottom of the picture. I just need to loosen up and leave more space between the lines, right?
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As for covering the whole thing with stars...I don't know. On one hand, I like the idea of being able to start and stop. I'm worried about consistancy with this squiggle method, too. On the other, I tried a star or two and they didn't come out too well. I did better with the squigs. Hmm...I'll have to see how I do with more practice.
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Per Care's suggestion, I used an old towel as batting, and it worked great! I wonder how something like that would work as a pot holder...thick enough or not?
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Thoughts so far:
1. This is murder on your arms.
2. I hope I get better with practice.
3. I'm going to fret my way through this whole thing.
4. I don't want to bail out and do straight-line quilting.
5. I know when it's done, it'll look fine, even if it isn't perfect.
6. The middle is going to be hard.
7. I have my seam ripper ready.
8. Can I just send this thing to Care and have her finish it? :-)