Another idea, I had a problem with the tension and rethreaded, change the bobbin, changed the needle - all of these steps several times, still having a problem. Took the machine in, lo and behold, I needed to use a different type of needle. I was using an embroidery need, but trying to do FMQ. The style and purpose for embroidery needles is different from FMQ. Put in a Microtex 90/14 and machine worked like a charm.