It does narrow, but I use warm and white or warm and natural low loft and it doesn't narrow that dramatically. Else what would be the point?
I have been able, just, to do designs about 4 1/2 inches all the way down. By the end, it involves getting the rails JUST right, but you get good at that in a hurry.
I was going to post a pic, but it's not wanting to let me.
If you do pantographs, I think it would let you do almost all of them. I don't have the light or pointer, and prefer free motion. It'll be another year or so before I can afford a long arm, so I figure I'll get my kinks out here anyway.
Good luck, Nursie- give it a shot. The first big one, I just put two sheets and batting up and played- it's going to be a play quilt for my daughter's bunnies, so it didn't matter, but it did give me a good sense of the space I had.
As you can tell, I vote Juki. But then, I'm not a fancy stitch girl, so....