I agree with mpspeedy on the trouble of having a wider stitch capacity. My Bernina is hard to use when sewing the 1/4" seams when piecing my quilt tops. Also, the fabric seems to 'skate' around when trying to sew 1/4" seams even when using the single hole needle plate and the quarter inch quilt foot. But....I love my Bernina for everything else, including quilting smaller items! But, because I wanted perfect 1/4" seams I just bought the Juki TL Q98 machine and I LOVE piecing on it. It has the knee lift just as the Bernina, but it also has a separate "RED" button next to the pressure foot that you use to cut the threads. It makes it so much easier to work quickly when piecing. And, because it's a straight stitch machine with a larger work area, I am able to sew perfect 1/4" seams without problems!