Thanks, everyone for all your supportive comments! I've been sewing since I was a kid----lonnnnnnnng time ago---and had never touched bobbin tension, so I was pretty apprehensive. But, I knew that was where the problem was. I'm just really glad I found a helpful tech person to work me through the process. Thanks to Jackie @ Phantom Crafts in Redford MI!! She made me feel more confident about "playing" with my machine. Thanks to all of you for your comments. And Pat: sounds like you were just compatico with that machine from early on!!