http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/
This website has some good tutorials, you can use whatever thread you like, sulky, aurifil, isacord, king tut, tension is dependent on your machine, most set it at 0 but I have a higher end machine where it is different.
Leah day also has some good tutorials
http://www.daystyledesigns.com/
Also the slider and machingers are worth the price, they make it a lot easier to move your quilt