Eight group members set up their machines in the meeting hall on Friday for the first part of the beginner's free-motion machine quilting class, and by mid-day they were all amazed that they were able to move fabric freely under the needle with no feed-dogs.  Of course the ladies  realise that to perfect this technique it will be a long journey of “practice makes perfect”.  The members learned about different weights and thicknesses of thread, needle sizes and spray basting glue in place of using tacking or pins to hold fabric layers together.  In the second session of this workshop in three weeks time, the ladies will make a cushion-sized sampler using several different free-motion filler designs similar to those above.