Well..I had just finished doing a regular stitch around the squares themselves and you can actually see that in the pictures. It looked fine.
And then I switched to my darning foot, changed the tension and length. I will rethread my bobbin and get a new needle and set everything back...and see if it makes a difference. I have no idea how to change the tension in the top thread.
Ugh..it's just so frustrating. I'm trying to remember to breath....and take it slowly.