Ask your wife about the features she finds so useful on her friend's machine. As someone suggested! have her start saving for the machine of her dreams. In the meantime, help her choose a less expensive model to "keep in practice". Once she gets used to it, she may see less need to spend thousands on all the bells and whistles.
Both Janome and Brother have some very nice machines in the $300 - $800 range that have lots of bells and whistles. I have a Janome that has more stitches than I will ever use, but I almost always use my 1948 Vintage Singer 15 that only has straight stitch.
Good luck!
PS I take it you have read the Ender' Game series as evident by your screen name!
Last edited by lovelyl; 11-09-2013 at 04:26 AM.