lisalisa

I have nothing to offer as far as what machine to buy, but as far as being able to use the machine you have to do FMQ, you absolutely can. Mine is the cheapest ever and I've put thousands of miles on it, doing mending, fmq, applique. All with no fancy settings. I could go with more throat space, but that's only considering that I've gotten much better and find that I enjoy it quite a bit. If you're just starting and want to dive in, there is no reason you can't do it now. Just get a darning foot on ebay. They're all pretty standard. I think the only thing you need to check is the shank type.