luana

You might try Sewer Aid on your thread. It is a silicone thread lubricant that you apply across the spool of thread and helps the thread slide through the machine.

ManiacQuilter2

I agree with Tartan. I find that I have more control at a medium speed. You want to have constant stitch length and accurate smooth curves. You want pride in your work and you won't get it going at high speed. As someone mentioned on this board before, they call it a WALKING foot, not a running foot.

Belfrybat

I have a Brother PQ 1500s with a top speed of 1500 stitches. Way too fast for me, but like others have mentioned, I had trouble keeping the speed constant. So I taped a few layers of thick cardboard between the pedal and base to act as a governor. It took some trial and error, but I found my sweet spot. This way I can mash the pedal all the way down and the machine runs at medium-high speed. I thought in time I would remove some of layers of cardboard and up my speed, but when I try that my stitching gets messy, so I just go back to what I'm comfortable with.

quilterpurpledog

One of the most important things is to quilt on a flat surface so that the table surface on machine bed are the same. If you move to a more stable table you might want to use insulation foam panels to build up the surface. Even speed is important whether you use the foot control or the star/stop button.

Buckeye Rose

Quilting, for me at least, is straight line which I use the walking foot and go as fast as I can and still keep straight lines. Or it is FMQ, which is usually done following a pattern drawn on the quilt, so I move the quilt slower and keep the machine stitching slower, which gives me a better result. I have a 6600 and have found that using a larger needle (16/18) and poly thread works the best for FMQ....at least for me. I agree on finding a more stable surface to eliminate vibration.

huskyquilter

I have this machine as well and that is a great idea, I'm definitely going to try it next time I FMQ.

To the OP, is your table on a wood floor by any chance? Maybe try putting some rubber feet on the bottom, not true feet, just those little sticky things you put on chairs to grip and protect the floor. Also, maybe your table has loosened over time. Ask your hubby to take a look, he might just need to re-tighten the screws. Another option is to put a towel or pad under the machine. Mine is much quieter if I have a folded up towel underneath.

Linda1

I have the Janome Horizon and it is a very heavy machine. I bought the table for it because I knew I didn't have one strong enough to keep it from vibrating. The table makes big difference. It was pricey but worth it to me.

Kris P

I have a Janome 6600, and find it vibrates quite a lot when I have it on a banquet table, but barely at all when it's in it's sewing table. I FMQ at about 3/4 speed, and use the start/stop button.I'll go slower if the design is more intricate, but find my curves are smoother at a higher speed. I always practice the designs a couple of minutes on a scrap sandwich before heading off on a quilt. I use Connecting Threads Poly almost exclusively, and am very happy with it. Good luck on your FMQ journey.

Jingle

If your machine is going fast, your hands have to go slower.
If your machine is going slow, your hands have to go slower.
I tried not lowering my feed dogs and noticed the stitches were not to my liking. My thread was more likely to break also.
Now I lower the feed dogs and like the stitches better. My machines don't have a speed controller.
My two machines will use any thread.

scarlet14

I buy Mouse Pads at garage sales and put them under my sewing machine and serger---seems to help for me