Janome 6300 9" throat 66 decorative stitches, leg bar, up/down button, auto bobbin wind, cuts thread, closure button, back stitch button, darning foot, even feed foot, quilting bar, 1/4 " foot. Approximately $1000.

I agree with the folks who said that a large harp area is beneficial for FMQ. If you are not going to FMQ, then your Viking is just great. I love mine. I would recommend the metal 1/4" foot. It has a flange to guide the fabric, and a wide opening so you can adjust the needle to get that magic scant 1/4". The only thing I don't like is that you have to use the zigzag plate and sometimes small patches can get eaten. It's rare, but happens occasionally, and usually means I need to change my needle. Viking also makes a plasic foot with a 1/4" flange and you can use this with the single hole plate. The only problem is that it doesn't sew a scant 1/4" and you can't adjust your needle position because of the single hole.

I quilted for years on a $125.00 machine I bought at Walmart. Then I bought a more expensive machine because of the bigger harp space and I wanted to make bigger quilts. I see no difference in the finished product on the $125.00 machine and the more expensive. You can spend as much or as little as you can afford to spend and turn out beautiful quilts.

I love my vikings. I quilt with my designer 1 and SE. I recently bought a new walking foot that had a stitch in the ditch foot (it came with 3 feet)

I just got done quilting a single bed size quilt for my GS bday and it was wonderful. It was worth every penny

save the $$ for fabric and GOOD notions/feet...