Originally Posted by Lisa_wanna_b_quilter
I think the decision comes down to what is important to you in a machine. Some people like throat space. Some people need super fancy stitches. Some need embroidery. Picking your MUST HAVE feature is the hardest thing!!
Well said. Think about features like a knee lift lever, a needle threader, an automatic cutter, auto tension. Those are the things you should be thinking about when you're looking for a new machine.
I hear that doing free motion quilting on a machine that has a front loading bobbin vs. a drop in bobbin works best and I can say that my Bernina (front bobbin) does an excellent job of FMQ, where as my Janome (drop in bobbin) doesn't.