Sorry--no pictures

 The new machine is working fairly well.  It came with a video that is supposed to show me how to do everything, but I found that the video and manual disagreed over several very important points right from the beginning, so have relied mainly on the manual. After very little experimentation, I realized that the machine works in basically the same way as the old one with the exception of having a walking foot, rather than a more built in form of specialized feed.  I've never used a walking foot, so tried it out while putting the binding on a small quilt.  I was not pleased, and switched to normal feed system, fairly quickly.  One major issue was that there were many skipped stitches while using the walking foot, but these continued when I used the normal foot.  So I have to blame the actual stitch setting that I was using--one that I probably use more than any other stitch setting.  I'll be calling the store today to mention it to them.

Next I tried free motion work, and the machine performed well, my free motion skill less well.  I've always been well regarded for my free motion work, to the point of teaching it several times to different groups.  So practice is in order.  The next charity quilt will be entirely done with free motion feathers--and I'm looking forward to doing it.  I very much favour Victorian Feathers , as demonstrated by Karen McTavish on Utube, and that's the method I'll be using. Using this method in the small scale of a 40" by 40" quilt will be challenging.