Fixed it -

 

 

At least I think I fixed it - 

 

I think the thread shredding was caused by the needle being a bit "old" - 

 

When I replaced it with the first new one -

 

There was no shredding - but the needle broke - for whatever reason - 

 

The second "new" needle probably wasn't all the way up in the housing - 

 

And came loose when I sewed a little faster than I normally do -

 

It looked like it broke in half - 

So - I shoved the third one up as far as I could -

 

And it seems to be OK so far - 

 

But now I've probably jinxed it - LOL - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -