I did an entire McKenna Ryan quilt with steam a steam lite without any problems and machine blanket stitched EVERY piece. It HAS to be something else. Put some PURE mineral oil on your thread(instead of SewersAid) and, yes, use a sharp or better yet, a topstitch needle. Just use a paint brush and brush the oil on the whole spool. It will NOT hurt any of your machine or gum anything up. Good luck.