mooshie

Okay, well I posted a thread about the Brother SE 400, and while I think I might love that machine my one hold up is that it only had a 4"x4" hoop. But thinking about it and looking around has lead me to ask the experts (the people who use and know about embroidery machines, all of you!) about machines.

Once upon a time I thought I needed a machine with ALL the bells and whistles. 18 yrs ago I was sure the only machine I'd be happy with was the top of the line $5000 one. But I didn't have the $ so I just drooled every time I walked past them in the store. But I am realizing that I may not actually use an embroidery machine enough to make it worth the cost. So, I'm thinking it may be worth it for me to get a "lesser" machine and if I use it a ton and find that I'm wishing it had some of the bells and whistles I could maybe upgrade later. I'm just thinking that my "top of the line or nothing" thinking is flawed, and will leave me with nothing for a long time!

So, I'm just wondering which machines I should be looking at? My budget I'm hoping to stay in is under $1000. I've seen the Brother PE770 online and it looks like a good one, but my one hold up with that one is that it appears to be an embroidery only machine and I'm not sure that I want a machine that I couldn't also do regular sewing on. But I keep thinking about it, so I don't know. Maybe it would be a good one.

What other machines should I look at?
What things should I look for?
Are there things to look out for?

Thanks. I just can't make up my mind!