What a difference a new quilting foot makes!
 

My Brother SQ9050 came with a clear plastic closed toe hopping foot. Didn't find it easy to follow stencils so I cut out the front section of the foot with a jewelry cutting tool and filed down the edges. That worked for a while then the spring that 'hops' started to make this very irritating squeeking sound like it needed a squirt of oil. Also I didn't like the 'hopping' foot feature because it seemed to take too much pressure off the fabric under the foot and the fabric would shift, even with the feed dogs up.

I found another hopping foot on ebay, all metal open toe. Said it would fit my machine. It arrived yesterday and was on my machine within the hour. Wow. Makes such a huge difference in the quality of the stitch! Also I can see much better the stencil line in front and behind the foot.

Very happy I took a chance and bought a new foot. Only $29.00 for a whole new world of sewing. :thumbup:

care to share a link to the foot you bought?

Patrice - Sure -- here is the link.....It was Amazon -- Not Ebay
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UYWOFY/..._26725410_item

I was fortunate the 'O' presser foot came with my upgraded package for my Babylock Ellegante. Loved using it from the start of my fmq learning process. I have both this open toe foot and the plastic closed one you described. When I had the fmq demo before buying the machine, the dealer changed between the two feet. She said the open toed one works better on the bulkier fabrics and when the surfaces may not be even, like corduroys and when batting is used; and the closed plastic foot is best on even, thinner fabrics. Her advice works for me.

I modified my Brother foot to be open and to quit hopping. That hopping drove me batty.

I thought the hopping was supposed to be a good thing?

that's one of those things that some people love and others don't.
i'm not a huge fan of hoppy feet, myself. i don't know if i could put the reasons into words.
that's just the way it is. LOL

thanks for the link, Stitch124.
i will have to keep that foot in mind.
i prefer an open toe so i can see where i'm going and - more important - where i've been. :)