Fun with FMQ with Leah Day & ACQ FMQ Club

ne of the requested topics in a poll for 2021 Guild workshops was Free Motion Quilting. I suspected this request could have easily come from members who have never taken a FMQ class, have taken a class but never felt like they could transfer what was taught to a quilt or members interested in FMQ on a domestic machine or on a long arm. That is a very wide range of skills to tackle in one lecture or workshop, so the ACQ FMQ Club is born. 

Our March Guild meeting on March 11 will include a video presentation by Leah Day and will kick off the much anticipated ACQ Free Motion Quilting Club. Leah Day is an online quilter, artist, author and creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project. In 2009, Leah began sharing online 365 free motion quilting filler designs with quilting videos over a 3 year period. The number of quilting designs she’s shared to date exceeds 500. Leah does not book live Guild presentations or workshops but she has prepared a video perfect for Guilds to share as a Guild meeting lecture titled Fun with Free Motion Quilting. This video is perfect as a first-time lesson or as a refresher. The ACQ FMQ Club is the vehicle to take this beginning knowledge to a quilt for the first time. But the Club is not just for the novice since it is set up as a sewcial and not a class. FMQ is a learned skill and we need those of us with more experience and confidence in this technique to come and share their knowledge, encouragement and enthusiasm. We learn best when we learn from each other. 

The ACQ FMQ Club will kick off with two ZOOM sewcials a month starting with the first Saturday after the monthly Guild meeting, March 13, 10:00 to 11:30 am MDT and the second Tuesday after the monthly Guild meeting, March 23, 6:30 - 8:00 pm MDT. Three generous members, Carolyn Morris, Diana Barry & Heather Schiller, have committed their time to host these sewcials with Lynn through May, 2021. Get the ZOOM links for these sewcials by registering Saturday FMQ Club and Tuesday FMQ Club for these free events on Wild Apricot. You will need the most recent ZOOM version to participate. Please update your device here. Please let Lynn Roginski or Heather Schiller know if you need help updating your ZOOM. 

FAQ:

• What will be different between the Tuesday and Saturday meetings? Can I go to both?

Initially, at least, there is no difference between the two events. FMQ is a learned skill that takes lots of practice and we wanted to make it possible for as many people to participate as possible. Our plan is to create three ZOOM rooms for different skills levels but you decide what room is best for you. As time progresses, the configuration of the rooms can change to meet the needs of the group.  

• Will we be quilting during the meetings?

Yes! It’s all about practice, practice, practice. 

• What materials and supplies will I need?
  

You’ll need a machine and a darning or FMQ foot. If you can’t drop the feed dogs on your machine you’ll need something like a SuperSlider to cover them. 

• Will this be helpful if I have a longarm?

You can FMQ on a domestic machine or a long arm. The best place to learn the specifics for your machine is your machine manual. 

• If I can’t make it to the March guild meeting, will I still be able to watch the Leah Day video?

Yes. The video will be made available to all Guild members to watch anytime, anywhere. 

• My friend isn’t an ACQ member, can she come to a FMQC meeting with me?
  This club is provided as a benefit to ACQ members. Please encourage your friend to join ACQ and she’ll be able to attend the FMQC and guild meetings for the rest of the year.