Reading this brought tears to my eyes...literally. I have a Viking Designer 1 and it's my best friend! I use it almost everyday. I have never been able to quilt on it though...it overheats! Just received an email that there has been a recall on it due to a bad power supply, so guess mine will be in the shop for a while too!
I bought a Juki 2000 to do my quilting on and it literally sings along (all metal construction)