My Nolting loves King Tut and Other Supirior threads, and nothing else. Quality thread is a must and the cost is worth haveing less aggrivation. Oh! Did I ever have a lot of problems when I was first learning to use the big machine. It is all trial and error. Now I always have a sample quilt (just 2 pieces solid fabric, So I can see the stitch quality) on zippers ready to load and test before I start any quilting. This routine saves so much time. Hope your future quilting goes better and better each time!