newbie to quilting and ready to send back the machine
 

I just got a 13 long arm, I have had nothing but trouble since I started this morning. The machine bird nest on the bottom, the stiches are real long and several skipped stiches, breaks the needle Can somebody rescue me and the machine before I throw it in the trash

birds nest in the bottom is a tension issue.top tension may be to loose.do you have a stitch regulator? if not the stitches will change as your speed of moving the head changes

Is your presser foot down? Have you contacted your dealer?

I'm sure with practice you will feel better and find your sweet spot with the machine. It sounds like a combination of top tension and the speed with which you are moving your fabric.

K

Ok I will try to reset my tension and try again.

yes the dealer is not open on sunday

Problems showing on the bottom generally mean tension problems on the top. The needle breaks also imply something wrong in the threading, perhaps the thread getting caught under the spool. I would first double check your threading. I have a Handiquilter Sweet 16 and the threading is somewhat different than a domestic sewing machine. Any time I have threading problems I completely unthread the machine and rethread from scratch.

Have you done free motion quilting on another machine? If not, realize you've got a significant learning curve in front of you. Even if you've done it on another machine, each new machine has some learning curve as you adjust your hand motion to the speed of the specific machine. I would recommend starting with some gentle curves and just getting familiar with the machine on some scrap quilt sandwiches.

Good luck and don't toss it! You'll get the hang of it.

Pam

Don't give up yet. Hopefully you are practicing on spare fabric. I did that for awhile and then moved on to charity quilts before starting on my own. I'm still learning after 4 years.

My last problem was breaking thread and I never had that problem before. So, I completly rethreaded, changed the needle, cleaned it, oiled it. Kept happening. I had just finished a quilt and had had no problems so after 3 days of rethreading, etc. I figured the only other thing was to change out the spool of thread. Yep, that was the problem. It was a new one and there must have been a problem with it. I contacted the mfg and they kindly replaced the thread.

Now, back to yours. Threading is totally different on these machines. So check it carefully. What needle size/type are you using? Mine ONLY likes Inspira 90/14.
Have you pulled too tightly on the sandwich? It does like a little give. Is there a finger width between the bat and the foot? Is your foot up with you thread and down when you go?
Do you have any friends with the same machine or similar? That was my greatest help since I purchased mine at a show and had no help from the dealer.
What thread are you using? Mine only likes King Tut on the top and Bottom Line or Auofil in the bobbin.
Please write back and let us know which machine you have? Also - there are yahoo groups for the machines and they are wonderful! I received a ton of help from my yahoo machine group.
Best,
Karen

Check your manual, double check to see if your needle is in the right way.