After many months of searching for an affordable machine with a larger throat, I found the one I love and could afford. It is the Brother 1500 S. The only difference between the Brother and the Juki 98 that I saw was that the Juki had a thread cutter on the pedal. Otherwise, when I tried each of them out, I saw no difference. The Babylock #???? also has the 9 inch throat. What makes the 9" throat seem bigger though is that the arm is also much higher than all the other machines I tried. Now I want my husband to "raise the front room ceiling" to make my small front froom look bigger. hahaha
I am still practising the tension settings but I think I am going to try the advice from the HandiQuilter II owner who mentioned only threading one of the holes. Anyways, I am glad to hear that you can use the HQII with the Brother 1500 because when I called there, the clerk said she thought you needed a 12" throat. Let us know how the HQII works for you. Pauline