I've been reading through some posts on different subjects and noticed quite a few of you have 1 machine for piecing, 1 for quilting and 1 for embroidery. Why 1 machine for piecing and 1 for quilting? Are these just regular sewing machines? Is there one brand that's better than another for FMQ purposes? Just wondering.

Some have a favorite machine, and like to use it for piecing, but the harp space on it isn't quite large enough for the FMQ that they want to do. It's nearly impossible to fit a quilt larger than a wallhanging through some machines, so one with a larger harp is necessary. Embroidery can take some time to complete, so while the embroidery machine is running, they can piece on their "piecing" machine. :)

What is "harp space"?

harp space is the length of the throat.

harp space is the space between the bed of the machine and the top bar, also the needle and the post...

I will give this a try. For many years I had only one machine, but things have changed.

-- I have a lightweight machine (Janmome 3160) that I take to class. I will use it for piecing if I want to sew upstairs instead of the sewing room. It has a great assortment of stitches and many of the features of my big machine.
-- I have a machine that I use for most sewing and piecing. I sometimes call it the beast because it is pretty heavy and I hate taking it anywhere. It has a great straight stitch and some really cool decorative stitches. I can quilt some decent sized quilts on this machine because it has a very large harp, but when I don't want to have to handle a large quilt, I have another setup.
-- I have an embroidery machine. Since it can take a while to stitch out a pattern, and since I have to be present to change threads, I rarely use this for anything other than embroidery, I use my regular sewing maching while the pattern is being stitched.
-- I have a Grace quilt frame with a Juki on it. The Juki is only a straight stitch (but a wonderful straight stitch). However, it is a hassle to take it off of the frame so I only use it on the frame.

I have not spent a ton of money on my machines, but they do a great job for me.

I now have multiple machines so that my husband can make fun of me. Actually, he was bragging to a neighbor about my sewing, so I don't take his teasing seriously.

I piece on my Pfaff 2030 and quilt on my Janome 6600. They both have a built in walking foot system but I like the Pfaff better for piecing and the Janome has a bigger harp space for quilting. Plus the Janome works a whole lot better for free motion quilting.

I piece on my Pfaff 2030 and quilt on my Janome 6600. They both have a built in walking foot system but I like the Pfaff better for piecing and the Janome has a bigger harp space for quilting. Plus the Janome works a whole lot better for free motion quilting.

I have two machines - a featherweight and a Viking. I like my featherweight cause it's easy to carry from room to room. I lay out my quilts on a bed in the basement so the machine goes downstairs for that. Also the laundry room is downstairs so I can get a little sewing done in between loads. Sometimes when the grandkids are visiting I like to piece while they're watching TV so then it comes upstairs. My Viking has a large throat so I use it for quilting. When I get the tension adjusted I like to leave it alone till I'm finished so then I can use the featherweight for piecing. The Viking has decorative stitches and I also use it for piecing.