Two questions
 

...both of which highlight how much of a novice I am.

my machine has two different kinds of free motion sewing options spring action and floating. Can anyone enlighten me as to when it is better to use one rather than the other. The last two quilts I've done I've used floating because I found it so much easier to get some control over the stitching though only with the machine on the slowest speed to prevent the thread breaking.

The other question I have is about if it is possible to make a large quilt in sections to make quilting it easier. If this is possible can any e direct me to any tutorials on the subject.

Thank you for any help or advice.

You can definitely do a quilt in sections. There are a variety of ways to do this, including one that cannot be discerned after the quilt is finished (splitting the batting into 3 sections, quilting the middle, then re-attaching the batting sections to quilt the sides). Here is a link to a book that explains the different ways of doing this:
http://www.amazon.com/Machine-Quilti...dp/B000NNGZJE/

I would 'imagine' that *spring loaded* quilting may be -- walking foot--- good for straight lines- floating for actual free motion- where you do curves- designs. as for your thread breaking---what kind of thread are you using? are you using the correct type/size needle for the weight of the thread being used? if you are not sure- visit the Superior Threads website- they have free charts you can download that show what size needle to use with which thread. I have found over the years cotton thread breaks much easier than polyester when quilting- but the *right* cotton thread- used with the correct needle- and tension settings shouldn't be breaking a lot. as for the quilting in sections question- people do this all the time- there are quilt as you go methods and methods for creating your quilt in 3-5 sections, quilting them, then putting it all together- check the tutorials section of the board and u-tube videos on quilt as you go (qayg)

Check out the Tutorials on YouTube by Leah Day, you will learn so much about Free Motion Quilting from her! Or join her class on Craftsy.com

I have both the spring foot and floating foot. I had much better luck with the spring foot. Try them both and see which one works best for you.

I agree with Prism99 on the book...it's great!

I started Fmq with spring loaded and have now changed to the floating and find it gives me better control over any spot where I need to travel over previous stitches. But you need to work with both and see what works best for you.

As far as quilting in sections, this is called "Quilt as you go" or QAYG. Do a search on both these terms both on this site and thru Google. There are multiple ways of accomplishing this, so if you don't like one way, keep looking for one you like. Marti Michel has a good book "Machine Quilting in Sections", Georgia Bonesteel's Lap Quilting books have a different technique written for hand quilters, but easily adapted to machine quilting.

Thank you ladies this is very helpful. My thread regularly breaks when using cotton threads. I daren't mess with the tensions as I assume the machine sets this automatically (HV 875) and tells me which needle to use. Perhaps its something to do with the basting. I really prefer using 505 but ran out on and have done this last one with pins. Poss too much movement under the foot? I will look at the different links. Thank you again.