Palmetto girl: Look into Metro Poly and read the reviews..I researched quite a bit..Also read why you should get polyester and not rayon...It's all so expensive for a nice variety...I have been very happy with the Metro, although does not carry the 'elite' name....They have a site..Metro.com I have the Janome 300E..At first was getting a fair amount of breakage. Blamed the thread...Researched some more, and found that a heavy steel thread holder standing to the backside abour 8 /10 inches, is all I needed..Hardly ever breaks anymore...anyway that's my 2 cents, for what it's worth....berni