I like Brothers machines, used to think Singer was the only one to use. Brothers is operator friendly, easy to learn to use. they have very good online tutorials also . I have 2 Brothers embroidery machines and one regular sewing machine.
have a Singer 500 that I quilt on , but would love a LAQ machine. Go to the dealer and try one. Good luck have fun with what every one you buy.

I bought a Brother CS6000i on Amazon that is computerized and has multiple decorative stitches. It had problems at 60 days so I was totally upset. I sent it in for repairs - since you can not repair it yourself - and it has worked great since then and I have come to love it. I only paid $159+ or something like that for it although it is listed at double that. While I was waiting for my Brother to be repaired I ordered and received a Janome HJD3000 machine which I paid around $350 for and again it was listed at a higher price. I loved it. It is a heavier machine so it handles heavier material better than the smaller brother. It is an electronic machine and not computerized. However I did have some severe problems with the stitches and had to spend quite a lot of time working on it to get it working right again. I got this one on Amazon as well and when it needed repairs Janome customer service told me to go to the place that I had purchased it for repairs and when I attempted to contact that company on Amazon they did not respond so I eventually fixed it myself. Prior to that I had a Kenmore for 25 years and loved it followed by another Kenmore for 27 years and loved it but when I looked at Kenmore and found out that Janome made them I went with the Janome and it works very much like the Kenmores I had. So I guess I would say either of those machines when working are a great machine.

I would look into the Janomes. Everyone that has one seems to love them. Also, they are reasonably priced compared to the Bernina's. I believe that Janome is a better machine than the Brother.

My personal preference is for a vintage machine with none of the fancy stuff on it. They are wonderful for piecing and I've done quilting of up to twin size on my Featherweight which is a smaller model but still has a larger throat than many of even the most basic modern machines.
At some point I do want to get a machine with some additional features, but until I decide exactly what features are most important to me I'm not going to spend $ I could more easily use for more fabric!
Good luck on your search.

Teresa, I have several machines, most Janome brand, including a high-end one. It's the only machine I have in my upstairs sewing room, mainly used for piecing and machine embroidery. I wanted a more basic machine for my downstairs room, a machine primarily for quilting. I did a lot of research before I bought a Janome MC6300; it is computerized, has all the features I need, but is still quite basic, with a 9'1/2" space to the right of the needle. You might want look at all its specifications and features at the Janome site. Last time I looked, authorized Janome dealers were asking $1200. for this machine. Suggest you buy whatever from an authorized dealer (on-line or not) to make sure the warranty is valid.

Since you don't have a lot of experience with machines I would suggest you buy from a store that will offer free Machine Mastery classes and have a service tech available on site. You said you don't have stores nearby, but this is a big purchase and you need to find a dealer who can help you. I've known lots of people over the years who had sewing machines they never used simply because they had no mastery classes or people to help them. Look for a used machine with a warrantee from a dealership. Buying online or from a box store means you will have no help and perhaps no recourse if there are problems. A " previously loved" machine of good quality will last you a long time and do whatever you need it to do. Don't shortchange yourself....you may grow in your interests and want to have the ability to learn machine embroidery, or appliqué, or felting, etc. some day. A used higher end machine will give you the capability to explore and grow.

For several years, I have "kept an eye out" for a good used machine and there's never any to be had. Admittedly, there's only one dealer in our area and I'm not in a position to travel long distances in heavy traffic to any of the others in the greater metro area.

The Jenome gem machine is light weight(good to take to sewing classes) It has served me well. If you want to machine quilt, do the individual blocks before you sew them all together. Leah Day has an excellent tutorial on u tube on how to do that and it is easy. Google. Leah Day free motion quilt along project on u tube. She has a series of many quilting tutorials and they are all free.

There are many good machines out there and I would suggest, if possible, to go to a dealer to try out different machines to get the right "fit". If you are going to machine quilt, look for a machine with a larger throat, I have a Janome 4000, which I love, but I also have a Brother that was free, and it is my "go-to" machine when my Janome is in for a regular check-up. I don't know that you need much more than a straight and zig-zag stitch on the machine, but a needle up/down is a great feature, at least to me. There are also machines that have a quilting stitch, but I have never used one. It all comes down to personal preference plus follow-up service. I know this is long, but there is no one right machine for everyone. By the way, welcome to quilting, I'm sure you will find it a very rewarding hobby, or in my case - obsession.

I would go to a dealer and try out a few machines. Even if you end up ordering online at least that way you'll have a better idea of what you want. Not saying that ordering online is a bad thing but dealer support is great when something goes wrong and in the beginning to show you how everything on your machine works. Also sometimes dealers throw in some extras when you buy from them. With the last machine I bought I got six spools of thread and a free yard of fabric each month for the next year.

Leah Day has a tutorial on you tube featuring the Janome HD 1000, under $500 machine, she compares the
Janome HD 1000 to the Bernina 830. All aluminum cast body. Her other favorite was the Janome Horizon 7700(big bucks).
I love my Pfaff 2044, I have seen them on Ebay.
Good luck on your qwest!

For several years I used a Pfaff, but it was very tempermental. It seemed I was always taking it in for repair, and the shop was several miles away and the price kept going up. I finally decided I needed to do something different so I went to Costco online and bought a Brother machine for just over $100. It came with a 1/4" quilting foot and automatic needle down. It also has a top drop-in bobbin so at a glance I can see how much is left. I don't make extremely big quilts anymore so the throat size isn't that much of an issue for me. I absolutely love the Brother machine!

Teresa,

Depending on what you really need. You can go two ways. An expensive machine will cost you a lot to repair. I have an Elna, cost me $1,800.00. Repairs on it will cost me $800.00. I bought another Elna , which I keep here at home. I also have a Brother SQ9050, it has 100 stitches, computerized, quilting board,etc. This one I carry to class or friends when I travel. I bought it at Wal-Mart for $200.00 dollars, if it breaks my cost to repair will be a lot less or depending how many years I get out of it, I can buy another. I love my Brother, it sews as well as the Elna.

I have a Bernina 1530. Have had it for almost 15-16 yrs and it is great for making clothes but very expensive for repair work or parts. About 2 1/2 months ago I bought a Janome 8900 and simply love it. It is quiet, I can use it by just pushing a button or conect the foot press, it is smooth and has an 11"throat for quilting. Haven't tried that yet but haven't tried that yet, will in the next couple of weeks tho. It was expensive but they have less expensive ones that are just as nice as what I bought. Starting in the $100's and going up. I also have a Janome embroidery machine that I also Love.

If you're in southern Indiana, I know Evansville has some several sewing machine dealers, and there are sewing machines sold at a couple of quilt shops in that area.

A machine with a wide throat is important for me.

I have Janome machines now and my old Pfaff. I really love both brands. Several of my friends got Kenmore machines from Sears to take to classes. They are made by Janome, I think. If you can find a Sears store that carries machines you can check them out. They got lots of bells and whistles for less money and are very satisfied. As to Brother I have several friends who have had lots of problems with theirs. Two of them traded them in on Janome. We have an excellent dealer about 60 miles away who was smart enough to give really court the local quilt trade and she sells lots of machines.

If I were to buy only one machine I would buy one with the widest harp I could find. You mentioned you want to machine quilt your projects well this would make your life much easier. I love a built in needle threader. My eyes have a hard time threading a sewing machine needle. As far as stitches go a straight stitch, zigzag, appliqué type stitch are the main ones I use. Most machines ave feed dogs that drop so you can fmq. A table extension sure is helpful. But I can't stretch the fact that a wide harp is the way to go. Let's us know what you decide.

I have a Janome 6600 machine and I loved it.. I recently purchased a Janome 8900 and now I am in love with it.. Janomes are very easy to use. On the 6600, I quilted everything from lapsize quilts to king size quilts and never had a problem.. Since I purchased the 8900 2 months ago, I have quilted a few things ( UFO's) and again, the quilting was wonderful.. Love my Janome machine..

Brenda in Indiana

Brother are good machines. Kenmore makes Janome,which is also a great machine but Kenmore is basically half the price of janome

I have a Brother SQ9000 I got on sale on Amazon.com for $140 and it has 80 stitches, but I also have a Kenmore from 70's, a Singer from 18's, may or may not keep although I have it working now. Helen, my grandmothers 201-3 works great with quilting as it has a large harp and straight stitches like a dream. But to quilt I would look for one with a larger harp area. But they all sew really good.

I still like the Janome and the larger throat.

21 years ago I bought a Bernina 1031 and it sews as well as the day I bought it. You can't go wrong with and older Bernina or other high end machine. The new plastic machines often don't last beyond 5 years.
Sharon

You might be a good candidate for a singer featherweight. That particular machine is from the 1930's and is light weight, so could go to bee's or retreats easily. As far as repairs, they are pretty simple machines, and there are experts here on the Quilt board. It stitches a beautiful seam, just like most any mechanical machine it too can quilt a quilt.

Babylock machines are user friendly

I am also interested in knowing which affordable machine has a wider throat or harp area?