There is no "best" machine for FMQ...they all can do it. I suggest watching you tube videos on FMQ, and tension adjustments. I use Leah Day's method of FMQ leaving the feed dogs Up with a hopping foot, I have much better control over the stitch quality that way, but no matter how you do it, it can be done on all of them.

yes. I learned to FMQ on a dinky mechanical Costco level Brother - tiny harp. Left feed dogs up and stitch length zero.

I havent found a thread my Bernina would not sew yet.

My Viking Rose was great for FMQ but died, so I bought an Elna Excellence 720. I have never been able to adjust the tension for FMQ to my satisfaction. Looks great on the front but not on the back. It does a great job otherwise, including walking foot quilting. A friend recommends a Janome 6600, but I haven't tried it myself.

I use a Janome 6600 and it works great, not fussy about thread either.

I did have a Pfaff and finally gave up trying to fm with it. My Janome 8900 does a good job.

I also was about to cut and paste this link as it’s the best advice l have seen yet. It addresses the exact issues that are happening. It is the link from Peckish above.

I have to agree that there is no "perfect"machine for FMQ. I also have to say that I was having a problem with plain stippling so though I would use the 90/14 needle. Well, that turned out to be a disaster so you can not depend on one simple thing to correct. I ended up using a titanium 80/12 and it worked perfectly so sometimes you just have to experiment

I want to Thank you all for your input. I finally was able to get my machine working after the 4th needle change. I am now quilting the border, than the binding to add and this quilt 1 of 3 to get done. I have been checking into a new machine, and I am seriously looking between the Janome 6700Pro, Janome MC6650, Elna Excellence 730 Pro and the Babylock Jazz ll. I would appreciate any opinions on these machines.

PS I will post a picture of the baby quilt I am working on when it is finished.

If you're looking for opinions, I've done some ribbon-worthy FMQ on my Singer S18, which is actually a Janome 6500 in disguise, so I can vouch for the Janome being a good FMQ machine. Be sure to get the correct bobbin holder (blue dot) and the floating FMQ foot that Janome makes. https://amyquilts.com/products/janom...-set-low-shank It makes all the difference from the hopping foot, IMO.

Watson