Thank you, Cagey! I didn't get notified of your reply. I think you're right about gradual increase in needle. I get panicky. Also I have slowed way down, loosened needle thread tension and lengthened the stitch. It's going much better. I have a second quilt to do for thIs lady; I'm going to try a different thread than the Innovatech (first time use for me). I also prewashed her wide back hoping it would improve the 'hand' of the fabric. I'm nursing the machine thru these two quilts; it worked beautifully the day before I started this one. Hoping it is bad thread and bad fabric. Because most off my troubled is moving right to left, I fear I need to replace the encoder wheel. How hard is that?