Trying to Do Some Decorative Stitches

I have been trying and trying to finish the decorative stitches on my Christmas Crazy Shortcut Quilt for the past couple of days and I am soooo frustrated!!!  I think that my machine really doesn't like the thread that I am using.  I am trying to use the Aurifil Aurilux Polyester thread in 36wt in the top and bobin.  I know that many, many people like this thread for machine quilting but I just don't like it for decorative stitching - I haven't tried it for machine quilting so I can't say anything about that.  The thread just flies off the spool and comes out in globs on the fabric.  You can actually see it unwinding (or unraveling) itself as well as it travels through the machine - so that after a few inches of sewing you can see that it is shredding at the needle :'(  Let me tell you I have tried almost everything I can!!

• I've tried a 90 metallic needle and a 100 topstitch and embroidery needles and I am still getting the thread shredding
• I've tried Sewer's Aid Lubricant
• I've re threaded my machine more times that I can count
• I've had the thread lying down on the horizonal spool pin and standing up on the vertical spool pin.  And, I've tried it on a cone holder off the machine.
• I've put a net on the thread and also tried a "Wonder Guard"
• I've decreased top tension and even tried increasing it
• I've tried a different spool of the thread

This thread just doesn't like me.  It's shredding and pinging off the spool.  Right now I have the thread on the horizontal spool pin with a wonder guard on it and a 100 topstitch needle with decreased tension and I am sewing very slowly.

This is a 36 block quilt and I only have 2 blocks left to do the decorative stitching on so I am going to slog through and finish these up using the thread that I have.  Sometimes a thread just doesn't like your sewing machine but will be fine in someone else's.  And sometimes a certain die-lot can be faulty.  Sometimes you just buy a lemon LOL.  I don't know what it is but I do know that I won't be using this thread for decorative stitches again LOL.

Has anyone used this thread before that could give me some words of advise?  I would certainly appreciate it ~ even if it's just to make me feel better!

Happy Stitching all!