I only started piecing 3 years ago. I have made 3 log cabins and am now spreading out. I just took one to the quilter that was a combo of 9 patch and roman stripes. I am currently working on one with lots of flying geese and even my first appliqueing. I have done this on a $90 Singer Simple. I really want to move up. I have looked at and tried husqvarna and Janome machines. I thought the Emerald 118 really was nice, but except for the needle up/down feature it wasn't different except sewing much better, and it didn't have a blanket stitch.
I also tried a HusqvarnaOpal 650 and a Janome 2030DC. They are priced the same with the Janome $200 off right now. They are both more than I wanted to spend and have more features than I will probably ever use, but the 118 is $400 and the other 2 are $800 with the janome $200 off.
Should I go with computerized? If I buy the 118 I can upgrade up to 12 months later for the full price of the 118 being applied to the Opal.
I would love to buy used, but you all seem to be hording your machines.
