I have a Babylock Ellisimo. I was lucky enough to be able to choose any machine that I wanted. I narrowed my choices down to the Bernina 830 and the Babylock Elisimo. I did alot of research before decideing on the Ellisimo. The biggest plus is that it was so easey peasey to learn on. I had never used an embroidery machine before. It came with 5 hoops from very small to rather large. It has on board tutorials and a really large display screen. I just love it. Go to the Babylock site and check out the video. http://www.babylock.com/embroidery/ellisimo

yes I do, have 3 in fact, Pfaff 7570's and I love love love them!!! IMHO the best machine ever made, and the best of Pfaffs, a real work horse! and I love the stitchs

I bought the Brother 2800D and I love it. It also hooks up to the computer or you can use the jump drives. I have 2 Pfaff machines and they are big ticket items that love certain types of thread and needles. The Brother makes Babylock. Like someone else said the big ticket items are thread, designs, programs, etc.

I have a Janome 350E and love it. I started out with a Brother 900 sewing/embroidery combo and within a week knew that I wanted to do more than what it was capable of doing. I moved to the Janome 350E because it was embroidery only, it uses up to 5"x 7" hoop. Most of the patterns are 4"x 4" and up. I liked having the larger hoop area. It has the USB port and makes it easier to import designs. I purchased a separate hard drive to use with my machine so that I wouldn't tie my computer up timewise. It is very easy to operate with the touch screen. I love the thread cutter and the warning for your bobbin when the thread is getting low. I know that there are all kinds of machines out there that even have their screens in color. You can purchase too many bells and whistles that you will never use or you can stick with what is really important to you.
Try out any machine that interests you as well as those that don't. You will find what you like. If you know what kinda of fabric you will be using the most to work with, take several swatches with you and try the machine out. I can also say that I have had no issues with thread. I like a machine who isn't too selective about what they will and will not use.

I have a Babylock Ellegante. Don't find a need to ever upgrade. Bought it as a display model and got a great deal at the time. I hated this machine at first,(a little intimidating)but now cannot live without her. "Ellie" has relieved a lot of stressful days (and late nights)over the past 2 years. The machine was used for classes so all the bugs were out of her by the time I picked her up. This machine does almost everything. Never picky about thread, needles, tension, or anything. Very easy to use. Does beautiful embroidery, even with a disk bought off Ebay that has 12,000 designs. No skipped stitches ever. Good luck in your search!

I have the Brother SE350, which I LOVE, because it is SO easy to use. I am not good with computers and I learned it....but it only does 4x4, an needed extra stuff to hook to the internet.
This weekend BFbought me a Brother Innovis 1200, as an early Bday present. LOVE it so far, but I am only learning!

Janome 9500. Has 4x4 and 5x7 hoops. Sews and embroiders. LOVE Janome. Also, consider where you will get service, how far is the nearest dealer or repair shop. I had a Singer Futura years ago and it completely turned me off of embroidery. It was loud, awkward, the progams were not the most user friendly at all. My dealer told me to give this 9500 a try this winter and I have been loving it ever since.

Here is a link to my first real project:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-105296-1.htm

You WILL love it!

I agree with Suebee. I had a Pfaff for 20 years that I put thru heck. It had a large sewing area and would sew at an super fast speed. I still have my Kenmore, but it is only for regular sewing. I is 15 years old and holding up great.
I wanted an embroidery machine, so I ended up with an Brothers Esante2, only 5x7 that I've had for years. It's very user friendly.
I would also like a machine that will send the designs directly to my machine. The digitizing program for Brothers sells for $1200.00 which includes the palette for transfering designs, too much money. Another digitizing program for around 600.00 is Embird. I just bought Embird about 3 months ago because I wanted to blend colors to make them more realistic. So far, I'm still learning. lol
Ask what will be new for the next years model.
Try out the machines.
Listen for nice hum on the machine, no clanging. lol
Buy what you want! Find a way to afford it.
Syl

Everyone seems so happy with their machines. Guess I'm gonna be the wet blanket here. My first machine was a babylock Esante (sewing & embroidery). Worked good for a while and I was having a good time with it. Then it started having problems after a couple of years. First time or two, the dealer fixed it under the warranty. But it still wasn't right and then they started in on they could fix it but the guarantee didn't cover that, etc. Mother board went out - several hundred dollars to fix and no guarantee it would sew because there could be other problems. Easy person that I am, I let the salesman talk me into trading for an Esante2. It has done ok but now it won't sew although the embroidery unit still works. Guess I will take it to a repairman soon. Definitely will not go back to the dealer. Don't want to change brands as I have a bunch of the embroidery cards that go into the machine. All in all, I'm very unhappy with my Babylock Esante experiences.

I Have Vikings, and have been very satisfied. In addition to beautify embroidery results, they will sew through ANYTHING. I can easily hem jeans. When you go to the dealers, you may also want to ask about machines they have received as trade-ins. They usually offer a warranty and lessons with the used machines. I would second the recommendation to get the largest embroidery area you can afford. Have fun!!!!