I have $399 Janomes in my classroom that have sewed over heavy, light and slippery fabric just fine and they have a few decorative stitches and speed control and needle up/needle down, so I'd say for a grand, you could get a really great machine with a few more bells and whistles that will handle thicker seams. I sew quilts on my Brother mechanical VX970, it handles great, and I paid $40 for it!