zelenkabach

I have just decided, after wrestling mightily with 2 lap quilts in my Bernina Record, that I need a new sewing machine with a larger work space. I live in a small town and all dealers are at least 85 -145 miles away. I took a research trip 85 miles to one city a couple of days ago to look at Janomes, Elnas, Pfaff's and Babylock. The Janome/Elna dealer was in a tiny sewing shop and the sales people were very nice, but none of them were quilters (they told me quite often). I was interested in seeing an Elna and they had none in stock to show me. I then asked to see the Janome 6600 & 7700 and was able to get an idea of how those machines would work, but the sales people had some problems with some of the functions, which were eventually resolved, but it was a little rough going. All in all, I liked the 7700, but to get their best price I would have to trade in a machine. (Now I have several machines that I could trade in, but all of a sudden I didn't want to part with any of them, just like my quilt fabric!)>

I then went to the Pfaff/Baby lock dealer, who didn't have a full line of Baby lock machines so there were none with the large harp, and the Pfaff machines I was shown I didn't like. Not as many features as the Janome, and noisy.

I hate making a major purchase like this with out being able to really test every model that I want to, but I am limited by what the dealers offer and the distances I have to drive. I decided to go to the Long Beach Quilt Festival where I can obssesively study a bunch of machines and probably the full range put out by each company, have a knowledgeable sales staff, and maybe get a good deal. But then I will not have the service assistance.

At this point I really think I want the Janome 7700. The larger 11" harp space is so important to me. I called another big dealer in my state, 145 miles away, and was quoted the same price as closer dealer (ca. $2000) but this dealer included a bunch of extras, without having to trade in anything. However, we are talking a 3 hour drive, or having it shipped.

So I have the options of buying from not-so-local dealers, or waiting a month to attend the quilt show and maybe purchase something there, schlep it home on the plane, but satisfied that I was able to really research this properly. I will probably attend that quilt festival even if I end up buying a machine locally, so it isn't a wasted trip.

I am on summer vacation so I have time to work on this. None of my options are great but I would be interested in other opinions.