Hello-entirely possible to fmq on that machine! I have a mc9700 and also get the message to put feeddogs back down....just hit the arrow that is displayed on the screen, and the message goes away....don't forget to use your quilting foot, and away you go....oh, and also another thing I discovered (perhaps others knew this, but I'm slow!) is to 'unplug' your machine for the foot control so that you have to start quilting by pressing your 'start' button, as if you were going to embroider....for me, this completely removed the issue of having to use my foot pedal to control the speed of the machine, while my hands were moving the fabric around....it's like patting your tummy with one hand and patting your head with the other...if you only have to do one of those things the one you are left doing surely will be better! I hope I have made this plain to unerstand......good luck, and let us know how you make out.....