I have had an amazing "Ah Ha" quilting day!
 

Last week I decided to make a "learning quilt" from a panel I bought years ago. I wanted to practice my fmq which had severe problems. Well I started reading past posts on this Board,and going to some outside sites and this is what I learned:

i have a Viking Sapphire quilt 875 and have always had trouble with fmq.
i finally realized that there is a pivot height setting that lowers the pressure foot during fmq, so I lowered
That a couple of notches
I always use Mettler Silk Finish Thread which comes on a spool that is cross wound instead of straight wound. According to the YouTube videos at Superior, I realized that those kind of spools need to be on a horizontal spool pin, to decrease the tension of the thread coming off the spool. In relation to that, I realized that I should wind by bobbins from the horizontal spool also.
From that same video I realized that maybe I should be using a topstitch large needle, and keep the top thread tension less than 3 on my machine.
i also used a single hole plate, which I had bought but never used.

Anyway, after making all these changes I was able to finish fmq without any further broken top thread or skipped stitches! Of course I still need a lot of practice, but at least I can practice now without getting frustrated! I am a happy girl right now.

Good for you. Don't you just love it when those "Ah Ha" moments come together?

Good for you and thanks for sharing what worked for you.

All the superior thread videos are great teaching tools. I am glad they helped you improve your work. Show us your before and after if you can. We can all learn something from your experience.
peace

You call it an "Ah-Ha" moment, I call it putting the due diligence into the process resulting in a successful outcome!
Well Done!

that's great! Switching to a topstitch needle was that same a ha for me!

Great job! You stuck with it and figured it out. I know I have some machines that simply won't FMQ without eyelashes in the back. Thanks for posting your solution, it might help.

Good for you. You should post a picture.

you gotta just love it when it all comes together...so happy that you found your zone.

Don't you just love it. Those aha moments are the best, then I forget.

I also learned a while back to use a 14 topstitch needle. That works for my machine quite well. Now if it could perform miracles on my FMQ, I would be all set! lol I'm glad you found some solutions to your problems. I know how frustrating it can be. Now you can have some fun!

Pivot height was a game changer for me. FMQ is a lot of fun when it all comes together!

I just wish the 'aha" moments didn't take so long to surface in my case!

Thanks for sharing some great tips!

Wonderful news! Your experiences and new knowledge certainly gives me hope that one day I can be successful at fmq!
Thanks for sharing!!!!

What is " pivot height"?