I've never been good at practising anything, I just get bored which is why I've never really mastered the piano. So, after 4 or 5 practice sandwiches for FMQ I went for broke and did some for real.
Nothing major, I made a bag to contain my current knitting which always languishes on the end of the sofa and spare needles, tape measure etc disappear between the cushions.
I don't know if it was brave or foolhardy to go for light stitching on plain fabric. I decided to stick to 2 designs in columns so that I didn't encounter the problem of getting lost. I stitched (not FMQ) vertical columns 2" apart to give me some hope of staying on track. The only other markings I made were for the loopy pattern where I chalked a base line to try and keep me straight. On the bottom I marked 6 radiating lines but cursed myself for using a frixion pen as it has left a light mark, but it's on the base so I don't have to look at it.
I don't suppose there are any 2 stitches the same length but on the whole I didn't find it difficult to keep reasonably even. I kept the machine speed relatively low so that I could put my foot right down without racing off. Actually, I realised that using a machine all the time you are pretty much aware of the needle / fabric speed ratio and I found my hands automatically speeded up / slowed down as the needle went faster or slower. The worst bits are when my sandwich stalled against something without me noticing and the stitches wobbled or went really small. I only unpicked 1" of stitching where I had started off a column and something got stuck and it jumped sideways.
For a first attempt I am really pleased with how it went and I now know that there was a reason for my constantly getting into trouble at school for doodling on my exercise books.