Nanax4

Babylock Crescendo, hands down! It does everything but vacuum, and I'm pretty sure it'll have that mastered next week.

WandaVA

Another vote for the Janome 6600! I've had it for several years, and love it more every time I use it. My repairman says it is the best there is--even better than the more expensive ones.

Dolphyngyrl

I would definitely look at the brother dreamweaver 3000. I love my combo 6200D(same sewing features as the 3000) it has been an amazing machine and has sewn everything beautifully. I have done quilts, bags, dresses. I adore it to pieces. The dual feed on it is amzing. It is the main reason I purchased the machine 4 years ago and it is still my most absolute favorite feature to date. The only other machine I would recommend that has turned my head is the Janome 9400. My 6200D has been so amazing that nothing has really peaked my interest until I saw a demo of this machine. It is a beautiful machine and if I had endless money and endless space trust me it would be in my house. With your budget there are a lot of nice machines out there. I do love love the stitch quality of the vikings as well. I sewed on a saphire and it was also a lovely machine but I prefer mine and the 9400 to it but it has some nice features. Really with your budget you can't go wrong. You could even get a Bernina in that range. They are not my cup of tea but many love them. I suggest trying a few of each brand in your range

Dolphyngyrl

This is the babylock version of the Brother VQ3000 so you can't go wrong with this choice either

Tiggersmom

I have the Babylock Crescendo and am Very pleased with its performance. The throat is about 12" which is plenty big for table runners and some larger projects.
I do have a Gammil for large quilts and have never tried to quilt a bed size on the Crescendo but it does have some amazing stitches.
Good luck in your search.

jmoore

Oh the joys of shopping for a new machine... I have only purchased two Janomes which have lots of great features but more importantly, I purchased them at a local dealer who also services it and offers accessories when I need them.

Karamarie

I also love my Janome 6600. I do my own FMQ with it so it takes a beating. But saying that, you will get lots of good info on this board but my suggestion would be to get out there and try a variety of machines. Get the best your budget can handle. The many different features nowadays are really nice. I absolutely love my speed control, scissor button, up-down button and knee lift to name a few. Let us know what you decide on and enjoy the shopping process.

dms

I recently too a class using a babylock. I have a Viking. My sister and I both decided we wouldn't trade our Vikings for the babylock. Every time we sewed over seams that were more than one layer, it vered off. I'd much rather have a used Viking than a new babylock. They just sew better. The machine I used was a quilter's machine.

Calran

I have the Janome 8900 and love it. Great for FMQ.

salederer

You might look at the Babylock line. They are made by the same people as brother.