Originally Posted by Bluphrog
I've had my 440QE for almost 4 years and I love it. If you've never had a knee lift before, my advice is to use it. Once you get used to lifting the presser foot with the knee lift, you'll love it. It's especially good when you're doing machine applique and have to reposition the fabric every few stitches. Also, during the lessons I took at my LQS, the instructor had us use our left foot for the foot pedal, so that it wouldn't interfere with using the knee lift with the right leg. It was awkward at first, but now I'm used to it.
I do a lot of my free motion quilting by setting the speed and using the on/off button. For some reason, this works better for me than the BSR.
You will probably get some lessons in maintenance, but my biggest hint is to remove the needle plate every time you change the bobbin and clean out the lint. I keep q-tips next to the machine just for doing that.
ARRGGGHHH DONT YOU Q-TIPS-THEY LEAVE FIBERS BEHIND THAT CAN DAMAGE YOUR MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Instead, go get some of those sponge eye shadow applicators and use that instead. You can reuse them, rinse them, etc. and you won't spend more than a couple of bucks. My sewing machine shop said that's a huge NONO".
Aside from that, thanks for the tip about the left foot. Do you find the presser foot lifter easy to use from a regularly sized table? I sew on my dining room table and I feel like it's almost going to jut into me...