I am looking into purchasing a new sewing machine. I have 2 in mind right now. I intend to use it for quilting, and garment sewing, so it needs to be able to do both. Currently I have a Kenmore 19233 but it does struggle on thick materials. It will sew over them, but you can tell its pushing it :)

Currently I have in mind the Juki Exceed F600 (I can get it for the same price as the 300 because its Christmas in July at the dealers). Or the other Pfaff Expression 2.0, this one is on CL and is a bit cheaper since it is used. But its only 6mos old, and the guy wants to sell it, sadly his wife passed away and he wants to get rid of it.

Any ideas on which would be best. I do like the Pfaff with the IDT which the Juki does not have. Or perhaps you have a suggestion of another machine I should look at. I have a fairly limited budget, I want to stay under $900.00 if I can.

Any suggestions or helpful hints would be appreciated.

I have two Janome's, I love them and they are rated very high with little need for repairs.

Model numbers ?

I'll put in my two cents for the Pfaff 2.0 which i currently use as my main sewing machine. I work on a number of things with it - personal clothing, alterations, canvas covers for deck furniture, craft items for shows we do all summer long, quilts, etc. I went with the Pfaff because of the large throating opening, dual lights, IDT, self threading, needle down and the 9mm versus 6mm stitch width.
I also own a Janome, Singer, Bernedette and BelAir but when I needed to replace my "main" sewing machine I did alot of test driving and comparison shopping and found Pfaff was the one for me.
Hope you found one that suits you.

I have 3 Vikings and I love them. The viking will sew on very heavy material.
Marilee

Have had Kenmore, Janome and Pfaff... and my all time favorite is Pfaff with the IDT. I will never have a machine without that again.

I would Google to get more information about both machines. Also check http://www.patternreview.com for reviews of the specific models from actual users.

Ordinarily I would choose Pfaff over Juki, but in a quick scan of a few websites with Google, it seems to me the Juki has a bigger harp and seems to get good comments from users (as does the Pfaff). One of the websites indicated the Pfaff 2.0 is geared more towards embroidery; 3.0 and 4.0 are geared towards home sewing and quilting (although not sure which is which).

Oh, and in answer to your original question, I use my (now getting ancient) Bernina 1230. Love its purr and total reliability.....

I have a Viking SE which is my main machine and I have a Bernina Quilters Edition that I use when my Viking is in for its yearly maintenance. I like both of them.

I have a Janome Horizon, Janome Gem Platinum, and a Kenmore basic machine.

I also have 2 Janomes and love them both. One is a Memory Craft 9500 and the other is a Jem Platinum 760.