jojo47

Hi, Joanne!

I agre with you about the Pfaff walking foot. That was it's biggest draw for me when I looked into buying mine...and having sevice so close to home!

BTW, my name is also Joanne...Jojo is a nickname that stuck for one of my consumers where I work.

JoanneS

JoJo was my nickname in elem school, and I hated it because they would call me JoJo from Kokomo. Of course, once they realized I didn't like it, it stuck! Now I like JoJo, and the only one who calls me JoJo is the woman I've known since 1st grade. I call her 'my OLDEST friend', emphasis on OLDEST, because she proudly told me when we met that she was OLDER than I. In college, my roommate called me Jo, so that's what most of my college friends call me. DH calls me Hon.

judee0624

Hi Lee,

Janome is the best. I bought the Platinum Gem last year at $500.It is small, only 12 lbs and great for taking to classes. I have done free motion and other quilting but it is really too small to do anything larger than a lap sized quilt. I know that the next step for me is the 6600 Quilter's Dream (Janome) that a friend has and she loves it. It is priced around $1700. Be sure to buy from a reputable dealer who will give you free classes in using the machine.

Good luck

judee

shaverg

Judee,

I am from So. Ca. too, just went to the Burbank Quilt Show last weekend. There is a shop in Northridge selling the Janome 6600 for $1449. I looked at it and the Baby Lock, I believe it is called the Baby Lock Quest with all the same features tried them both. Liked them both although Baby Lock was $500 cheaper.

g shaver

wesing

My wife started on a $80 Euro Pro machine just to get her feet wet. When we were looking for fabric one day the store owner invited her to sit down and sew on one of her Pfaff machines. From that day forward it was all my wife talked about. We had to save for a while to buy the machine, but the IDT makes all the difference. She is using a 2038 and we paid ~$1,600 for it. It has several features that she enjoys, but again, the IDT is what sold her. Other high-end machines that she has looked at don't measure up to that one feature.

I hope you enjoy your new machine.

Darren

RuthiesRetreat3

I purchased a Baily a couple years back. It's a long arm (they come with 13 inch or 16 inch throat and use a quilting frame OR just your table. It is very heavy, but I already had a Gracie frame that was supposed to be for free motion quilting, but was inadequate (for me) with my standard machine with the tiny 7in throat. The Baily was A LOT less expensive than comparable better-known long arms. I got the 13 inch throat, since my frame wouldn't allow me to utilize the 16 inch one, and I didn't want to buy another frame. If starting over with no frame, I would have gotten the 16inch throat. The one I got was just under $1500 and that included the shipping. It was a on-line buy ( I think they're in Maine) and I am very satified with it. I found them on-line just by Google...type in Bailey sewing machines. They've been very helpful when I needed help at first, both by phone and by email. Haven't had any problems with it since the first couple of "getting acquainted" lessons I gave myself. Ruthie

Maire

[quote=Jamie]we have a local shop in the area..it is a main carrier of babylock..which I personaly love...but the fantastic thing about this shop, is it's all trade in's and once used

Jamie, if it is allowed could you tell the name of that shop, or what town it is in? I'd love to visit a shop like that (I have a sewing machine addiction-LOL)
Maire

Debra Mc

I have a Babylock Pro Quilters Choice Professional. I dearly love it. A great machine. Also in your price range. Looked around at a lot of them & decided I liked this one best. Now my embroidery machine is another story. I have the embroidery part down except it only does up to a 5x7 & I didn't realize it at the time I bought it. It is a Babylock Ellure Plus. The decorators stitches are a pain. They don't come out right all the time. I am still learning on it. Sometimes these computerized machines are too smart for their own good. Go try them out when you can find a close dealer.

Dolphyngyrl

Brother is always a cheap and reliable buy, i had one for 13yrs that served me well, and now i have a newer model with more stitches works even better
I paid 130 for my new one, the nice fancy brother for quilting is called the qc1000 runs about 1800-2000 dollars but works like a dream.

shaverg

If you buy a Baby Lock you are getting a Brother. Brother makes Baby Lock.