I have been trying to figure out how to respond to the suggestions, hopefully I am doing it right. I tried the stitch lenght at 3.5 and the upper tension at 7 and it worked well on my sample piece. However, when I tried it on the actual quilt it didn't work. The batting was the same but the fabric different, heavier cotton. Will try cleaning it again, new needle and see if that helps. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and or good wishes. I will keep working at this and hopefully get it to work.