Hi everyone - I am "tentatively" considering a new or 2 new machines. I am a beginner quilter - less than 1 year and love it.

I have a reconditioned Brother CE 5000PRW which so far as met my needs although I have found through use a number of features that I would love to have but don't! Especially "up and down" needle position.

Now - I have an approx. $700-$1000 budget. Want both quilting and embroidery capabilites.

Do I look for one machine that does both or get 2 different machines. Want a larger than 4 X 4 embroidery design and USB capabilites.

Am I dreaming or is there a dream machine out there for me???

Cindy

if you only getone machine that does both,keep your old one to sew on while the new one is embr. dar

You will not find a machine with a 5x7 hoop and sewing capabilities in that price range I'm sorry to say - unless you find an older machine (which might not have the features that you want - and yeah, that needle up down is sweet!)

In the under $1000 category with a 5x7 hoop (you won't get a larger hoop than that unless you almost triple the cost) is the Brother and the Janome 350e - the 350e is iffy on the cost though. It's more expensive than the Brother but if you have a dealer near by you might be able to do some dealing there.

I would suggest getting two machines - one for sewing and one for embroider. Having the combo units are nice for space however just sitting, watching an embroidery machine stitch out gets old quickly.. You will probably want to double duty and sew at the same time ;)

Oh - didn't even think about the time it takes to embroider -- good point. See - I knew I needed you folks to give me words of wisdom!

Cindy

Looks like I do need 2 machines! Maybe have to save up more for the embroidery machine and get one sometime down the road.

Cindy

The Brother is a nice embroidery machine - it's like the 760 or something like that. It is embroidery only, has the 5x7 and stitches out nicely.
You can get a low end machine with the 4x4 hoop but it's almost a why bother unless the only thing you ever plan on doing is monogramming which is totally lost on me. I don't monogram anything lol.

I have a Brother 4500d which I do love - and it needs to get a work out maybe this weekend. I am overdue on making myself some new tshirts - and some for the boys. I just got a few new embroidery designs from emblibrary and they are just waiting for the boys. I'm thinking of sending them in to school on Monday (first day of school for us!) with new tshirts...

I purchased my 1st Viking as a reconditioned machine .........it came from a sewing expo show where it was used as a demo machine. Came with full warrenty........and was priced much less than at the store. But, at that time I knew someone who was trusted and it only had 15 hrs on it.........I got lucky.........Maybe you could think in that direction...............calla/Sue

Do you have a dealer close by ... sometimes they gave trades -ins and you can get a good deal that way with lessons :thumbup:

Lessons are great especially for embroidery

The Brother PE 770 is an embroidery only machine with a USB port and 5 x 7 hoop.

Unfortunately I do not live close to any dealers -etc. I live in a very remote area of Arkansas and I guess the closest would be Little Rock which is about 150 miles away! So, that is not really I good option for me although I have thought of it!

Cindy