Jratcliff---This sounds just like me. I really like making tops and bought the machine cause I had so many to quilt I thought it would be a good idea. I have made many many lap quilts for a nursing home done with pantos but my free hand quilting sucks. I can do stipple and meader pretty well but I don't know if I will ever be good at free hand. I have a quilt on my frame right now that I tried feathers on the borders. When I finished I thought it looked so bad that instead of taking it off the frame I proceeded to rip out all the feathers. It is still on the frame. Not finished. I decided to do something else for awhile.