I also have a Gracie but mine is a GemQPro and I use a Janome 16 sewing maching. I had a lot of trouble at first but have finally progressed up to the point where I can do meandering. The throat on my machine is not deep enough to do much by the time you reach the bottom of the quilt.
One thing that has helped tremendously is attaching zippers to the leader and then pinning to the zippers.
If you contact Sally at the Gracie company she may have some suggestions on the stitch regulator. I had to have mine replaced.
let me know if this helps.