I felt the exact same way. I've only had my machine for over a year. Alot happens in a year if you practice. A dry erase board helps. I practiced my feathers daily for an hour or longer on the board. The older frames and some of the cheaper frames aremade with all the bells and whistle. One of the bells would be the track system. They simply don't steer as well. Feels like you have no control. Sharon Schambers has some videos on youtube that could help. She teaches you how to use rice bags to give you more control. Even shows you how to make them. As we all know Sharon wins the big Quilt shows, so I think she might have some idea of whats right and wrong. The set up for my machine said to have my quilt about a quarter inch from the bed of the machine. Sharon says to have it laying on the bed. It adds stability and control. Another tip I learned was to start with small patterns, like little feathers instead of big ones. The longer the line your stitching the harder it is to control the smoothness of it. Longarm rulers and ruler foot also give you a little more accuracy. The GadgetGirls sell a ruler for everything, they are pricey but well worth the money. Quiltersrule is another site for rulers at a more reasonable price. I know a couple of gals that take online quilting classes at LongarmUniversity, they say the classes have really help them with learning to make great designs with simple longarm rulers. The biggest tip I've learned over the last year is Buying an expensive machine doesn't make you an artist. Even a $30,000 machine takes practice. When you see that fabric for $1 a yard buy it, load it, quilt it, give it to charity, and repeat. Watch all the free videos you can on youtube and other sites to see how others tackle a quilt. You can also mark your designs on the quilt using a water soluble marker, follow the lines. Good luck and don't give up. We've all been in your shoes. I'm not an award winning quilter but someday....I'll give Sharon a run for her money....LOL....a girl can dream!