ETA

I think I might have it...after finding instructions for my machine on t'internet (my hard copy is in a safe place!) I have figured that if I decrease the pressure on the foot then I have more control over the fabric and the direction it takes....I did contemplate hand sewing but figured I wanted them this year ha ha!
They seem to be ok, not wildly fab, but good enough at the moment...I was also getting to the stage of contemplating hanging stuffed squares, triangles and rectangles on the tree...did I tell you I am good at straight lines

photos to follow if I can dig the camera out from under a pile of fabric and threads