mic-pa

If your machine sews a nice straight stitch that is all that is necessary for now. As you got more into quilting you might want to upgrade. I have three machines, one isfor taking to quilt guild and classes cause it is smaller and easuer to carry. The other two are embrodery machines and I have been quilting for 20 years. So as others said good luck and enjoy.

sewwhat85

sew so many machines i find i like the one that is working the best at that time LOL

Hope2quilt

I love my Janome 7700. It is about in the middle as far as sewing machines are concerned. It has just enough technology to keep me happy!

Becky Crafts

I just started quilting last June and have a Brother HS2000 machine. The neck on it is smaller than I would like, but it doesn't slow me down much! I have a 20 lb lifting limit & space to quilt is in very short supply in our motorhome where we live FT & this one fits the bill on all counts. I've done oversized lap robes as well as many baby quilts on this & just love it!! Have even started doing FMQ with it! We learn on what we have & go from there.

irishrose

The quilt I am finishing has been completely done on a 1956 Singer 301A. With the addition of a 1/4 inch foot, the machine has done a fantastic job. I have quilted a queen size quilt on my 1974 Elna that only has a 6 3/4 inch harp (space between the needle and the pillar.) The Singer has a slightly larger space. As the previous poster indicated, what you have is fine if it sews with a nice strong stitch balanced between the top and bottom tensions. I am ready to do my first FMQ ever. I'm not sure which machine to use. The Singer does a good sample, but I have better speed control with the Elna.

tdvxh

I guess I'm a fanatic. I started with a Husquvarna 200(?) Moved up to a 300 before 2 weeks went by. Within 2 months, moved up to a Janome, then to a Brother InnovisD, then to a Baby Lock Espire. Purchased an Inspira Quilt frame w/Pfaff Hobbie Craft and now I have traded all except the Espire and Pfaff for a Bernina 820. I'm loving being able to combine embroidery w/quilting. I have made at least one or more quilts on everything and find the 820 about the best because of the throat space. Needless to say, my FMQ leaves a lot to be desired. NO TIME FOR ANYTHING. I need to retire from my day job so I can quilt.

peacebypiece

You can make a quilt on just about any machine as long as it sews forward. I started 50 years ago on an OLD singer that only went forward. In 1965 I got a singer that did zigzag..wow! Decided to do embroidery in 2004 and bought a used Viking Designer 1. Now have two of them. If you really have to have a new machine (need is sometimes a mental thing) look for Viking Topaz models with the longer throat. They also do embroidery. Should be some good used ones out there by now. Shopping for one is half the fun.

pumpkinpatchquilter

I started quilting on a machine that my Husband bought me for my birthday years ago...it was an old seventies Europro he had bought used from our local sewing center. It had about 6 or 7 stitches on it, reverse, and one speed - FAST! I learned to free motion on that baby! Lol*

I have several sewing machines now, but I'm a stay at home Mommy living on one income, so I cannot justify at this time in my life buying a high end machine. It's not essential to have a machine like that to make great quilts, but a lot of those bells and whistle features make things a lot easier. (Like stitch regulation! Lol*) I currently do most of my piecing on my featherweight and free motion on my Simplicity Quilters Classic...also a very economically priced machine. It does what I need it to do for now, but eventually I would love to upgrade. :)

hazeljane

I think you stick with what you've got until you find out what it is you really want a new machine to do. Don't get blinded by bells and whistles if you don't think you will use them. My mom has a couple of Berninas that do everything but make coffee. And she uses the fancy stitches and embroidery functions.

I had done enough when it came to plunking down big $ (for me) to know that I wanted the best straight stitch machine I could buy. I have a cheapy brother with fancy stitches that I use only for the occasional applique, but primarily I want to piece and quilt. I have a mid-arm Juki 98Q that i absolutely love. And a 1956 Singer 15-91 that is a powerhouse as well.

Many folks use their bells and whistles, and that's great. But make sure you want to use them before you decide.

Many of us like the older singers. My Juki is much like those older machines- simple to work, simple to clean, simple to repair, and all metal. You just need to keep oiling her and she will purr like a kitten and run like big cat.

newbee3

the machines that have all the bells and whistles I bet most people don't use all of them and probably will never I know I have a husqvarna quilt designer 2 and it has a lot of stiches I don't use my machine is maybe 5 years old. So if your machine does what you want it to do you don't need anything else.