romanojg

I had a Viking Ruby for a yr and then traded it in for the latest, the Diamond Deluxe. Both machines are great; I use alot of different thread and I've never had a problem with any of them. I figure for the price I pay the machine should take it all and both of these did. The hoops sizes are great, way over 10" for the largest ones. The machines also have lots of features that I love. I love the cutwork needles and how much easier it is to let the machine needles cut the fabric instead of doing it by hand. There is a big price difference between these two machines and there are alot of people trading in their Rubys for the newest, Ruby Deluxe also really neat machine. Most of the time Viking has specials where you can get free financing as well. I have gotten it on both of my machines. And, even though I do live close enough to take the classes (and I do take them) there are things that I want to do that hasn't been covered yet in class and I've been able to figure them out. Good luck on you venture of finding the next machine. I love embroidery and got hooked very fast. I so totally don't understand these people who buy the machine and say they got intimidated by it and never use it. I promised myself that I wouldn't do that and I haven't.

Brother also makes nice machines. I recently took a two day class using one of the latest ones. While I love some of its features and it did a great job it also had (or didn't have) features that drove me crazy. One of the main things is that you have to tell it to put the needle down to start sewing; Viking doesn't do that. You just hit start and it lowers the needle, presser foot and starts. There are a few other things that Brother doesn't offer that Viking does so it's a matter of if you can possibly find dealers to test the machines out and see what fits your needs better.