It is mostly practice, practice and more practice and not all on the machine. I know that sounds crazy but and lot of FMQ is muscle memory. So, if you practice drawing a design on paper or any thing that you can see (I say this because I used to have a micro-fiber rocking chair with big arms, perfect for drawing with my finger) and practice one design at a time along with practicing on your machine you will get good. Start by writing you name with your machine, first name, last name, then put a heart in the middle, then maybe add a star at the end or maybe a grapevine. It will come just stick with it. If you are having your thread show mostly on the curves you are probably moving your hands faster than the machine, just try to slow down a bit on the curves. Good luck, you can do it. Hugs.