wow! your friend is 20,000 miles away??? is the machine European/Asian???...that's a long way for a machine to travel- maybe something has been knocked loose/out of kilter??? I have an HQ-16 it is about 9 years old now---when I first set up my machine I had some tension issues that caused me much frustration- I called the company in Utah--and found the customer service folks are wonderful! they were so helpful and even though they were in Utah and I am in Michigan they talked me through it all over the phone.. I've called them a few times over the years and have always found the help I needed they are great. you should contact them...start at HandiQuilter.com... there you can find the 800 # for customer service/tech support...they will help you solve your problems. also check locally---up here Bernina dealers are also Handiquilter dealers/ service tech's.