After sewing for many year, I took my first quilting class in Jan. '03 and purchased my 6500 in July '04. I have only used it for piecing, quilting, and mending. I love it and would recommend it. I joined a Janome group (maybe Yahoo?) and that was helpful. I have quilted up to a queen size quilt, and although I have a king-size quilt ready, I think I will be sending it out for quilting.