My Viking Ruby is great embroidery; easy to learn and use. There are so many features that makes this really great. It's also good for quilting with a 9 1/2 throat. I used the FMQ and even for a beginner I did really good. It has settings so that you can either use the floating foot or the one w/the spring. I've been using my machine for a yr now and have never had to adjust the tension and I've never had a problem with any threads that I've used. It likes them all. I got mine used from my LQS, it only had 7hrs of use on it but I saved alot. There is only one Viking above mine and the only difference in the two is that the other uses at least one hoop larger than mine. I have hoops ranging in size from the standard 4x4 up to 14 X 9(apprx) plus two endless hoops. I could not have gotten a machine with hoops only 4x4 or even the 5x7 I would have been so bored and those are the only two hoops I haven't used. I'd suggest going to a few places and test drive the machines they have and just as important see how the customer support is in that store. CS is so important for your machines and especially for embroidery machines.