Thanks to all who have replied and all your encouragement. I feel so much better now, knowing I'm NOT the only one out there who has problems with FMQ. Can someone tell me what is the easiest overall quilting pattern to do for a start? I've been to Leah Day's website but find most of hers too complex for me to manage. Think I will have to resolve the thread tension problem first, then keep practicing that pattern, till I'm confident to do it on a real quilt. I'm sewing a table runner now and would really like to try some FMQ. Thought it shd be manageable since the size is small.