I have the brothersq9000 started free motion quilting on it but like some of the other members said I wanted a machine with a larger throat. So just this year I bought the PQ1500S machine and started quilting with it and because of the pin feed I almost finished it in a day, but I got interrupted and had to go to work on my job, then with the gardening season I haven' t finished it yet. I can't say enough about how well it is working for me. Like you I had to search for a machine that was not to costly. It is still pricey but I was able to purchase it with my income tax refund. I purchased it at an albrands for $599.00. We'll worth the price.Hope you find one you really like.