Originally Posted by
ontheriver
The brother 1500 has a 9in throat, comes with all the feet (FMQ and walking, plus others). Costs under 700.00. But is only straight stitch machine. Does great piecing and quilting. Has thread cutter and needle down features, also knee lift and small extension table. Have mine on a frame for quilting right now, have used it on table and it does not move. But later you may decide you want some fancy stitches or just a zig zag for basic machine appliqué which this machine does not have.
Ditto on this one. It has your '1-4' requirements. Also thread cutter. pressure foot adjustment and a metal walking foot. It is the Brother PS1500. My favorite feature is it can sew up to 10 layers at a time. I've done 7 layers so far and it was like butter. Got mine for $600 withe free shipping. You won't be disappointed.