Annaquilts

A whole other thought. What about an older machine like vintage. I just bought a Singer 301(straight stitch only, machine only~ 16 lb) in cabinet for $50. It did need work but these machines are straight forward and DH does them himself. It seems nice both for quilting and piecing. I do think you might want a cabinet with it or drop it into a table if you plan to use it for quilting as it might move when quilting a larger quilt. Singer 201 you could probably quilt larger quilts on without it needing to be in a table.

gmaybee

I have two Pfaffs and love both of them.

Kryssa

Check out the Janome Magnolia 7330. I paid $399 for mine but got the dealer to throw in a 1/4" foot and a walking foot. You should also make sure your dealer includes introductory classes on your machine because having bells and whistles doesn't help if you don't know how to use them!

Here are the features I love about my Janome Magnolia:
Needle up/down
Drop feed dogs
Speed control
Start/stop button
1-step buttonhole

If I had a bigger budget I would have looked for something with:
Auto thread cutter
Adjustable presser foot (the Threadbanger has this but it was another $100, so if you can afford it, maybe look into that)

koipuddle

Found a pfaff 2024 on Ebay with starting bid at 550 with 0 bids, but outside the US; so called Wichita to the pfaff dealer and they have a 2038 they are closing out for $999, and a 2025 that was a floor model they loaned out, price not set as of yet. They have 'mechanical' 3.0 well in my price range, and I think they said the 4.0 was $699. so when I'm up in whichita monday going to go by and check thier machines out. If they let me make payments on the machine and hold it, I could afford a more expensive machine; maybe the 2038 :-D Keeping my fingers crossed.
jack

lab fairy

I really love my Pfaff for most of my sewing needs. Its hard to beat that IDT.

cheryl222

I also have a Juki TLQ and love it. I also own a brother and a Husquvarna Viking Quilt Designer. If someone told me I could only keep one and all I would be doing would be quilting, I would definitely keep the Juki. It is a dream to sew straight sewing.

koipuddle

Cheryl,
Who makes the Juki? Is it a pfaff?
jack

cheryl222

I am not sure, but I think it is a Japanese made machine.. They make a lot of industrial machines as well as home sewing machines. I think they sell for $14oo in some sewing shops (my friend's husband paid that much for hers!) but you can get them on the internet for MUCH less. My friend just got one last week and it was $735 with free shipping.

lab fairy

Juki is not a Pfaff. Pfaff is from Germany.