Out of Hock?????? 'Any machine should be able to do fmq......if you cannot drop your feed dogs just put a piece of masking take over them......and just hand guide the fabric.........
As far as any machine not liking any brand of thread.....bullhocky.........it is just a matter of adjusting tensions to match the twist of the thread, correct needle, and of course cleaning the lint out of the machine on a regular basis (and that is after about 8 hrs of sewing) certainly helps any machine work with any thread.............I have had many brands of machines, used many brands of threads, doing various techniques and have never found "doesn't like the thread" as a bonafide reason for it not working....usually is operator error related problem.....