Wow - I am so pleased to hear all of your tips, so far. I have already switched to a topstitching needle with a large eye - a wee bit better, but not much. I am using a 100% polyester (Gutterman) all purpose thread, which I have used for normal free-motion quilting with no issues. On the advice of others, I tried different thread, Mettler, coates, and some other brands I had laying around, all with the same result. I will follow the advice and try not to pull on the needle and loosen the "death-grip" on the ruler.. I have been putting off the expense of the Supreme Slider, but I guess it's time to loosen the purse strings and spring for one. A question for OnebyOne... did you touch the tension at all on your Singer Quantum? I tried loosening it a touch and I had loops galore on the backside, so I moved it back to auto.