Hi Andrea! Welcome! I hope I can offer you a bit of help with the stitching problem. I have a Janome machine, too. When the stitches from the bobbin are making "eyelashes" or loops, the tension on the bobbin is most likely the culprit. The easiest cure is to be sure both top and bottom threads are pulled to the top before you start to sew, as this sets the tension. Remembering to do that has cured 99.9% of the nasty waddy knots of thread I was getting when I first tried free-motion quilting. I thought I'd never get it right!!!
A nice comfortable speed as you go 'round those curves will help get even stitches and avoid the eyelashes. It's all in finding that comfortable speed--plus practice, like you said.
I haven't put my machine into a frame (Wish I could...limited room space!) But I have had great success learning to machine quilt without one. Keep us posted on your progress!
***PS:Sorry about the double posting! This has happened to me before. My Internet provider either doesn't Submit at times or doubles the whole thing. :oops: