I debated so long and hard about getting the high end machine that could embroider as well as sew several years ago when I bought my HV Quilt Designer. I decided to bet a free standing embroidery machine instead ( janome 350E) because I figured I could sew and embroider at the same time. For me, that worked because it was soooo much less expensive to go that route because I find I am not using the embroider machine very much.