My way of thinking is to buy the machine you can afford and will let you do whatever you want to do. I only make quilts and quilt on my 2 machines. I only buy straight stitch machines with as big a harp as I can get. Works well for me. I only quilt a large meander and suits me perfectly, I have no desire to be a whizz at making fancy stitches and designs, I just want to make lots of quilts.