I recently got a short arm, and that is one of the designs I first learned. I have been practicing feathering and got the hang of that too. --- When I first started using my machine the thread was breaking a lot and I called the store. He suggested that the poles the quilt was wound on may be too high and they were. I lowered the quilt to lay flat and just below in front. No more thread breaking. Check to see the position your poles are.