LyndaK

I have both a 221 and two 222's. The 221 I don't use for freemotion quilting, but you can purchase a plate to cover the feed dogs. I just find it's too much hassle. The 222's have the ability to drop the feeddogs. There is a lever beside the stitch length regulator that puts the feed dogs down into "darning" position of up into "sewing" position. Also the 222 has the marked needleplate, similar to the one on a larger 301. It's a nice thing to have. People swap those out on their 221's as well.

As far as freemotion quilting on a FW, for small things like placemats, tablerunners, etc, I would consider using it. However, it's small size would make it far too difficult to do a larger quilt. Quilt as you Go is possible on the FW too. Darning and freemotion embroidery are possible and are shown in many of the old Singer technique books. The 222's came with a darning foot, or you can purchase them from various online vendors.

The 222, or 222K(same thing) has the free arm capability which makes it lovely for children's clothing and dolls clothes. You can get at those little armholes, collars and cuffs! However, note that these 222's are more expensive to purchase than the 221's.

If you're looking to do larger items, however, consider a Singer 301. It's larger and has more space under the "harp" of the machine for rolled up fabric while quilting.

The motors on these machines will stand up to a lot of sewing, as long as they're lubricated properly and checked out for carbon brushes that need replacing etc. The wiring should be inspected carefully as well. If you feel unable to do that yourself, a good sewing machine repair person can help you.

Also, research online. There are a couple of sewing machine mechanics who have put their knowledge online, or in DVD format for a price and it's usually well worth investigating that as well.