Sisty88

A few months back i got the Juki HZL f600, and absolutely love it! It has a nice range of decorative stitches. It came with all the feet you would require for quilting and has a stitch setting for a 1/4" seam. It also has a speed control, a knee lift (to lift the presser foot without using your hand) and needle up/down mode. These were the things I was looking for in a machine and it is perfect! It was more expensive over here in the UK but I believe was around $1049 when I had a look at USA prices.
It has a different feed system to normal domestic machines and so it hasn't eaten the edges of my fabric at all, which is another plus for me!

sahansen44

I have 2 Babylocks, Esante (embroidery that I don't use that much, thinking of trading in) and Melody (smaller and lighter to take to retreats, etc). Have been very satisfied with both for quilting and I also make bags and other craft sewing.

QuiltMom2

Don't be ashamed that the $99 JC Penney machine finally biting the dust makes you emotional. It sounds like it's been your friend for many hours of sewing. You need to get the best machine you can afford and test drive them all! Have fun and I would love to know what you finally end up getting. (I live vicariously!)

romanojg

It really goes back to what most will tell you, no matter what your price range or what you want, test it out. I love my Vikings, they have them in all price ranges and most dealers offer classes on any machine. Even our local sew n vac place has classes for just about everything, from quilting, serging, emb, sewing, you name it. I used to love to see the Janome commercials and love their machines. After owning several Vikings, and taking lots of classes where they use Brother and owning an Ovation Serger from Brother, if it wasn't a Viking it would probably be a Brother. First of all, I like the Viking and Brother dealers around here so that's a big factor, you need great support. I have nothing against Bernina but don't care for one of the shops here and since I only go there when I can't find what I want else where I knew I wouldn't want to deal with them for customer support. I would also recommend a used one bought from a dealer, most have had them serviced before selling them and most offer the warranty but the savings are great. My Diamond Deluxe, had one minute of use from being set up for potential use at the convention but I saved thousands on it because it had been "used". I got all the orginal warranties, classes and the extra's that come with a new machine.

Buckeye Rose

Stay away from buying a machine at the big box stores, whether it is a brother, a singer, etc. They are the very lowest quality and will not last if you do a lot of sewing. I would strongly recommend that you go to a dealer and test drive every machine they have (bring your own fabric similar to what you commonly use). I found a gently used janome 6600 that I love from my local dealer for $1000. It has all the features I need....needle down, auto thread cutter, needle threader, built in walking foot system, feed dogs down, lots of deco stitches (and I do use them). Dealer support is a must for the new computerized machines of today. Mine came with unlimited free classes on how to use the machine as well as a technician/repairman on site ....which made me feel better about any future problems or tuneups.

Judi in Ohio

I am with sisty88 all the way on this. I LOVE sewing machines, buy new ones all the time. The Juki F-600 is more bang for your buck and a darn great machine with many features of the big names at a better price point. And the motor is the strongest of all these types of sewing machines - leaving out commercial machines. I have the f 600 and the 2010 straight stitch - love my Juki's.

cherdt1083

I should mention that I am going to make trips to our local sewing machine shops and quilts stores in the next week. We only have a couple of them in my area. I want to do that before September 12-13 - that's when our annual Harvest of Quilts Festival happens and I would like to see if vendors offer any good show specials.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

mea12

Just steer clear of big-box stores and to get a machine that will hold up to all you want to do..plan on buying from a dealer. Brother/Babylock are excellent if dealer models. Bernina is good too you just have step way up the line to get some of the features you will find in other brands as one example: automatic thread-cutter is very easy to get used to. Brother/Babylock, Janome/Elna and Bernina at the $800 -$1200 price points consistently are safe bets. Viking and Pfaff also worth a look and the Juki F600 really gets rave reviews...there are lots of happy owners of that! So you'll have some fun exploring to do to pick the one you like best!

newbee3

I don't think you will find a bernina in your price range

SusanSusan33

I have a janome 6600p and it's a Great all around machine. I highly recommend it. I got it for $1199 at a local sewing machine shop.

If I could get a second machine like if I won the lottery I would get a juki 2010 and upgrade the janome to a horizon with an 11 inch throat.