I am afraid to try. My husband used to work in a mine manufacturing plant (on sewing machines) and said one of the seamstresses inadvertently dropped the feed dog once and got the entire machine out of adjustment. He prefers I not try it. I looked at long arms but they look like too much work (the cheap ones) or too much expense.

Most machines, today, have a lever or something and it will lower the feed-dogs. It should not mess up the machine in any way. You can always just cover the feed-dogs with an index card with a whole punched for the needle to go thru. Just to keep the feed-dogs from pulling the fabric thru in a direction you don't want it to go.
Don't be afraid of machine quilting or steppling. It just takes practice, practice, practice, practice... and more practice. Work on something small. A place mat or something and work up to larger quilts. Get Ricky Tims CD," Grand Finale". He does all his machine quilting on a sit down machine. Just concentrate on the small section in front of you.

I don't even like the look of it. People go crazy and stipple so much the quilt can stand on its own. I like defined patterns. Art quilts are great and most have not too much quilting.

I do not lower the feed dogs. It gives me more control on what I am doing. The stitches will stay in uniform length that way. Give it a try.

I've taken a free motion class and can not seem to get it. Also very hard on back and shoulder muscles.

I don't like stippling. I find it is tough on the hands and it gives me heartbutn (not sure why). IMHO it makes the quilts too hard.

I found that I learned to relax by first doing loop de loops. Once I got the feel of letting the motion just flow, it made it a lot easier.
Also, try 'writing' your name. It's something you do all the time, so translating it onto your machine quilting is sometimes a good teacher.
And don't give up. If you're a linear thinker - just stipple with lines. No law says it has to be curves!

I'm not good at stippling either - do wish to learn though.
Please help me out here - 1) what IS a stitch regulator?
2) Someone mentioned spraying bed of machine with Pledge to make it smooth - does the fabric pick up some of the Pledge oils?
3) Another mentioned creating a smooth surface with freezer paper - do you tape it all over, just in a small area by the machine - in other words, how is it used?
4) What is a supreme slider?
5)Also, what IS a stippling stitch on a sewing machine?
Thanks - I know someone out there can help me understand.

I see stippling almost as puzzle pieces. If you've put together a puzzle or two - just think puzzle piece. Stitch regulating is the hardest thing to control on a home machine I think.

Slider and Machinger gloves helo a lot!