tessagin

I just continue to use my 401 and quilt clips. I don't do enough to justify getting anything larger.

Sheri.a

I have the 15000 and absolutely love it. I use it about 80% for sewing and have used it to quilt a king size quilt using the embroidery hoop. There are so many features on it to help with quilting I have become spoiled. One of my favorites is to set your foot to lift with the needle down when you stop sewing. This is so nice for pivoting on applique. I could go on and on ....

The king size quilt I made and quilted on it was accepted as an exhibit in the Houston Quilt Festival this year -- I am beyond excited about that.

I know some have mentioned having two separate machines, but for me I only do one thing at a time. This really works for me.

Good luck!

Queen

I checked out http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-...eviews.pl?tf=m

before buying my last machine. You have to sign up, but well worth it. So much information.

Mary

beadywoman

I have the Janome 15000 and absolutely love it! That being said, I've never seen on any other brands, so I am always curious about whether I would like another brand. But I have really enjoyed this machine. Have fun making your decision!

Gatormom3

I have had the Janome 15000 for a year and love it!! I use it for piecing as well as embroidery and couldn't be more pleased. I also have a 6600 which I use for piecing while I am embroidering, if the embroidery doesn't require multiple thread changes and thus, my attention frequently. I drooled over the 12000 for several years and finally succumbed last fall and couldn't be happier! Good luck!!

grann of 6

I have the Diamond Royale and just love it. I find the Vikings to be very user friendly. My suggestion would be to go to the various dealers and check out these machines. I do like the fact that with the Diamond Royale you can sew while still having the embroidery unit on. I have the Designer I, the SE, the Diamond and use them for different things. The SE has the walking foot on it, so I use that for putting on binding, the Diamond has the flat table so I use that for general use, also the DI is used for general purpose. I don't know anything about other machines so can give no opinion about them. But a good dealer is very important when getting to know the new machine.

quiltingeileen

I don't have either of the machines you mentioned, but I do have 2 Janomes. I am very happy with my Janomes. They do come with many feet etc. which saves you from paying extra to buy them later on. My Janomes have been trouble free. I would definintely take a good amount of time test driving any machines you are interested in so as to create comparisons. Good luck and enjoy the quilt show also.

Reba'squilts

I have the diamond. Love it. But I also loved the Janome. I bought the diamond because the company gave me free interest, which I really loved. I think I was also more familiar with how the Vikings work because I have sewn on them for 40 years. Both are great machines. I know, I have been a lot of help!!! Oh, I have non embroidery Vikings but I seem to choose the diamond for everything! Love my machine!! You are right about driving the different brands. Good luck shopping.

SandyG

Combo or individual? I vote for a separate embroidery machine. I recently bought the BabyLock Flourish Embroidery machine. LOTS of high end machine features, well within your price range. Separate machines let you sew while also embroidering. Great embroidery machine. Whatever decision you make, just embrace it and enjoy!

Jennifer23

My mom has the Janome 15000, and it's a great machine. She just got it in July, but has done quite a bit of embroidery on it, and is starting to FMQ. I've used it for quilting as well, and it's pretty great. I think she paid just under $7000 Cdn for it, with the trade-in of her 20-yr-old embroidery machine.

If you don't do much large embroidery, I would consider getting a smaller embroidery machine and a separate sewing machine with a longer bed for piecing and quilting. The reason the top-of-the-line sewing/embroidery machines are so expensive is that they can use really big hoops for giant embroider, and if you mostly do monogramming, that isn't necessary. Having a separate machine for quilting allows you to embroider and sew at the same time if you want (efficient!), and you could get two separate machines for $4-5000 combined.

I was considering a big embroidery machine like the Janome 15000 myself, but ended up getting a basic Viking Sapphire instead, and I'm glad I did. I wanted the big machine for the large quilting area, and I got that at a much more affordable price. When I get an embroidery machine, it will be a separate unit. If I was to buy right now, I would probably get the Janome MemoryCraft 500E, although I haven't used it to see if I like it, and haven't done much comparison shopping.

You should think about how much room you have, whether you want to sew and embroider at the same time, and how large a hoop you need for embroidery before deciding. My mom made the right choice getting the 15000 because she has limited space, and doesn't have the strength to be moving heavy machines around to switch from embroidery to sewing. Because of my space, age, budget and usage, separate is better for me.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your purchase, and please tell us what you decide!