Oh Rymer, your bottom tension is too loose, that's an easy fix. But, boy is it frustrating when it happens!

Thanks, I've just had the one 2hr lesson-sewing time so far. Maybe I just need to practice a lot. I like the idea others said of doodleing on paper and getting the eye/hand going together. I've also thought of using paper and an empty needle on my machine and meandering or other things on the scrap paper. That way I'm not using thread or material and can just practice. The holes would show where I've been. How would that work?

Good idea...I hear using a white board is also very helpful for the practice. One instructor I know says she keeps it next to her while she's quilting, and runs thru the patterns first on the white board.

Esqmommy, that sounds good, having a white board to doodle on, and fun too. I'll have to get one. I had a hard time trying to figure out your name, until I thought about my daughter being a lawyer too... duh!
One book I read had stressed the open toe foot, so that was why I was trying to find one. They even suggested cutting a plastic one open to use.. Think of rough edges on the cut plastic!!! Maybe I just need to work with what I have first. I also have a Brother/Disney embroidery sewing machine I bought from a friend, so I looked at the attachments for that. The embroidery foot there is closed too. Maybe I wouldn't like the open toe one after I got it.

Try adjusting your bobbin tension. If it too loose it will make a mess like this on the back side. Comments about the possibility of the bobbin being wound incorrectly is also a possibility. Good Luck!

The Silcone thing is:

Free-Motion
Supreme Slider
LaPierre Studio LLC
Formerly known as Free-Motion Slider look on ebay or google for the best price. good luck!

I am just learning this FMQ thing. It is sure not as easy as it looks in those video's. What it reminds me of is learning to drive a car. I remember my first few driving lessons and think that OMG, how do so many people learn to do this? Then eventually it just clicks and you wonder why you ever thought it was so hard.

Well, I am still on my learners permit with FMQ, but I am getting better.

My only words of advice is to relax. I am finding that when I start really concentrating on it, I tense up, I get hunched over and am actually fighting the fabric and the machine. If I sit up straight and think about relaxing and just flowing along it looks so much better. My sister keeps telling me I can do it. If so and so can do it, you can. She also said something funny last night. I told her I was having trouble getting this meandering thing down. She said " Of course you are. You are not a meanderer, you are way too goal oriented." Which is so true. But I will get it, I will, I will I will.

Rethread your machine, you've missed a step in your threading. Good thing about that is it is easy to take out.

For meandering, you just do puzzle like shapes,or squiggles, basically any shapes you want. You want to keep the a equal distance apart, and just relax, not going too fast around the curves. Also when you start you need to pull your bottom thread up from the bottom, so you don't get birds nests.

Here is a good sight to learn about machine quilting http://www.daystyledesighns.com

You may not have the top threaded right. I have had this happen when the top thread wasn't threaded through the take-up lever - the part that goes up and down at the top of the machine. On my longarm, it happens when the hopping foot is left in the up position. It's easy to take out the stitching. But, it's a waste of thread-all those tangles. So annoying.
Cynthia

Correction to the address i gave before http://daystyledesigns.com