I'm also short so I built myself a short person's table by taking a set of inexpensive adjustable legs and screwing them to a board I got from Lowes. I have that set low enough that my elbows are bent at a right angle when I'm FMQ. That has made a world of difference for me. No more tight shoulders. Here's a pic. The table is just deep enough to hold my PQ1500s and I've got it set in the ell between two of those inexpensive folding tables that Sam's club sells. I use my cutting mat to bridge the gap between the table behind my machine and my machine's table and a couple of old Supreme Sliders that I cut up and taped down over the areas between the two tables and the extension table on my machine so there's nothing for a quilt to get hung up on while I'm quilting. I had to use an old cutting board to raise my machine to just the right height to be level with the two tables, but it's sturdy enough that I don't have any problems with vibration. I also made myself a suspension system which eliminates any quilt drag and has also helped. Part of the suspension system is visible to the left (the PVC pipe).
I still have to raise my chair some, but not so much that my feet don't touch the ground.
Rob