I just received the Janome Horizon 7700 along with my mom. I named my machine Sunny Horizon and mom named hers, you probably guessed by now, Cher. I traded in my Singer 7470, a so called quilting machine. I was fortunate that I did not pay for the new machine, it was a birthday gift. Yes, someone loves me very much.
I am starting to quilt a quilt now and all I can say is, "Wow, the 11 inch throat is the absolute best feature along with the built in walking foot." I have not done FMQ yet, but can't wait to learn. In my humble opinion, I would by the best machine you can afford after test driving them.
Some of the features I can not live without:
10. Easy threading of the needle
9. Needle up/down
8. Locking stitch, and I don't mean reverse
7. Thread cutter
6. Walking foot
5. Extension table, or the ability to have a flat surface
4. 1/4 inch guided foot
3. Knee lifter
2. A few decorative stitches, I don't need all that cakes with my machine, just the ones used for quilting.
1. Throat size. Women say that size doesn't matter, in this case the big throat makes it really easy to move the bigger size quilts threw the opening.
Just my two cents