Thank you all for your help in my frustration. I've come to the conclusion that the major factor in my problem is the user lol :D I did try a few suggestions and things are working better now. Not great but better. I think the main problem is my timing. hands too fast, stitching too slow or vice versa. This board is great. I appreciate all the suggestions you gave me and took each one seriously. Thank you again

My first thought was a topstitch needle, also. Larger opening means less friction on the thread.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]463723[/ATTACH]