Mary,

Thank you. It is frustrating especially since I specifically bought this machine for FMQ - guess I should have done more research. I suppose I will have to get the other bobbin and see if that works for me. Did you order it online? I have tried everything everyone has suggested and the problem still exists. It is a shame some of the dealers are less than helpful. Sorry you never got your 6600P to work for FMQ. I'll keep trying.

OK I believe the eyelashes are caused because the speed of the machine and the speed at which you're moving your fabric is off. It does take practice. Slow down your machine speed a little and play with a quilting sandwich. You should start to see improvment. You can also try putting your machine on Mode 2 pattern 13. I sometimes use that also.

I had the store we bought the machine from order the blue bobbin. It is odd though that other machines can do fine with FMQ but some of us do have problems with the Janome6600. I didn't find the speed to have anything to do with the problem. I personally think it is all in getting the tension perfected....this is from my experiences.

I had one with the same problem until I discovered this:
1. Start with a practice "quilt" with the same fabrics and batting about 12" or so.
2. Set your tension to 3 - if the bottom threads are too loose, set it tighter to 5 and try again.
3. Keep playing around with the tension like this on the practice piece until you are happy.
4. When doing FMQ, set your machine speed about half way and then with you start put your foot all the way down and work from that steady speed. You will get faster as you get more practice, and then move your speed up as you do. Good Luck

I practiced all afternoon and no longer have eyelashes! I do have sore shoulders. ( : I did get the FMQ bobbin, and it does help. Tried without changing it first. My tension seems to work best at 0 for the pressure foot and 5 for the reg tension. I did better if I didn't use the foot control and set the speed on the middle of the slide arrows to practice. Dogs up or down don't seem to make any difference that I can see. I made a "sandwich" and wore machiners gloves. What seems to make eyelashes for me is my movement of the material. I moved it too quickly when I started, and jerkily when I got tired. I could tell because my top stitches were longer when I was making eyelashes. I used different colored threads so I could see the problems more easily. Just hang in there. Everyone says practice, and I believe they are right!!!

So glad to hear you are doing better with the FMQ. Before we know it you will be a pro.!

I have a 6600 . I just had some some correspondence with a shop where I labeled the machine "tempermental". She took exception to that label ,but then turned around and sent me a 4 paragraph email on all the the thing I could try to get it to work right. My old work horse Janome would just sew. No fuss. I miss that.

It's just going to take time and pratice. I spent all afternoon with my machine today and I'm feeling more confident. You really do need to fuss with it. I started making sandwiches and labeling the thread, needle, and batting as well as all the settings. I don't know if it's a waste of time yet, but it seems like everything needs tweaked and I just want to have something to consult with .

I agree! Someone had asked what car we would compare our machines to and my Janome 6600 is a Ferrari - beautiful, sexy, but oh so finicky and temperamental. It's a love/hate relationship. I'm waiting for the love.

Don't know if this would help you but I've read that some remove their
pedal on the Janome 6600 and use the start/stop button to FMQ so you
don't have to worry about the speed and can concentrate on the quilting.
Hope I explained this right. LOL

I have to give FMQ another go one of these days. My first experience was a
complete disaster even with the blue bobbin case.