I stepped foot for the first time in a fabric store today :gulp:. It wasnt that bad but I felt a little out of place. I picked up some felt-ish fabric for making a hat out of as a first project, some decent multipurpose thread, and some new bobbins for Janome/New Home machines. I went home and tried everything out. The machine is sewing pretty consistently and making tight stitches now. FINALLY!

Thanks to everyone for the advice and special thanks to Steve Ashton for hooking me up with the link for that manual. It was a godsend.

BB