Don't give up yet. Hopefully you are practicing on spare fabric. I did that for awhile and then moved on to charity quilts before starting on my own. I'm still learning after 4 years.
My last problem was breaking thread and I never had that problem before. So, I completly rethreaded, changed the needle, cleaned it, oiled it. Kept happening. I had just finished a quilt and had had no problems so after 3 days of rethreading, etc. I figured the only other thing was to change out the spool of thread. Yep, that was the problem. It was a new one and there must have been a problem with it. I contacted the mfg and they kindly replaced the thread.
Now, back to yours. Threading is totally different on these machines. So check it carefully. What needle size/type are you using? Mine ONLY likes Inspira 90/14.
Have you pulled too tightly on the sandwich? It does like a little give. Is there a finger width between the bat and the foot? Is your foot up with you thread and down when you go?
Do you have any friends with the same machine or similar? That was my greatest help since I purchased mine at a show and had no help from the dealer.
What thread are you using? Mine only likes King Tut on the top and Bottom Line or Auofil in the bobbin.
Please write back and let us know which machine you have? Also - there are yahoo groups for the machines and they are wonderful! I received a ton of help from my yahoo machine group.
Best,
Karen