Most of us who can not afford long arms or don't have room for them..go through the pain of big quilts on our small machines when we decide sending them out just cost too much if u make very many a year.That really adds up..like u I started with a Viking designer 2...I quilted many FM quilts on it and fought them all...I try a few things..in the ditch.. meander..loops..in the ditch..is just plain boring to me..I almost quit quilting doing that..then I try the other free flowing things..like the loops..it moves fast..and u can put a little creativity into it..but still fought with the machine part..my machine..for some reason ..does not like backing up very far..the thread was sure to break every time..most machines brands have little quirk..I think..this went on for a few years..to the point of quitting.. then I got a used mega quilter..it wasn't too bad of a price..it still sets in my sewing cabinet like the designer..but the mega gives u freedom to move around on the quilt..and more room for the quilt to be moved..fm quilting is always going to be a stop ..start..patient thing to do..so to wrap this up..yes a machine can make a different...yes what u do on the quilt can make a different..but none of that will make a differences if u do not have the patients for it..only u can decide that..
Give the loops or some faster moving design a try before u decide it may help..again as others have said all of us like different things about quilting..good luck ..oh look for good used machines from dealers..that way if u do decide it isn't for u..it won't be ..I can't quit this thing cost too much..in my case..the one I found had only been used a couple times..and it was a fourth of the new price..the dealer stands behind it for 6 months..