Domestic Machine Quilting

I have been working on the Pine Tree Wallhanging. I had great frustration quilting inside the trees. The top thread kept breaking. I tried changing everything I could think of: new needle, rethread machine (many times), lessen top tension. I finally finished that part. When I stippled around the trees with white thread (same brand, weight as the darker thread) I have very few breaks. That still doesn't make sense to me.

Here are my first feathers. I drew these on paper many times, but this is the first time I have actually quilted them.

Here is one of the corner triangles:

Here is the feathered border:

All in all, if I keep anyone from being closer than 5 feet of it, it looks OK. I'll be finishing up with the corner blocks today.

Thanks for stopping by.