I know it's a case of practice practice practice, but having briefly had a chance to try it on a different machine, I was also aware that some of the issues were related to my machine, I've tried googling with the machine name, but I only come up with shop references, so I just went by brand and that was a little more helpful. It's a Janome 423S, btw.
The best tip I picked up was to not drop the feed dogs! I tried that and there was an instant improvement.
Another problem I'm having is tension, but I'm not entirely sure whether it's how I move/the speed, or whether it really is the machine and the problems mostly seem to be bobbin related, so is it possible I have to adjust the bobbin thread tension? I'd expected to only have to adjust that is I have a different to normal thickness thread in there.
As for moving the fabric around easily, I've tried it just on the machine bed and with paper taped over, the paper was worse. I think I've got my hands in an ok position, but that seems to leave me with about a 4inch square where it's ok to quilt, is that what you'd expect?
Anne