Originally Posted by kellen46

Two things I think you should consider before brand. One choose a dealer that is close to you, not two hours away over the mountains...and two if you want to do machine quilting the size of the harp or distance from needle to motor, the place where you are going to have to bunch up all that quilting bulk is important. You are going to need at a minimum seven inches, nine is very good and eleven is heaven. I have had a few high end big brand machine fiasco's just because of this. It is not really all the bells and whistles it is the usability. Mostly, even when quilting you will be doing straight sewing. Having a dealer close is important because despite how well made the machine things will go wonky. The more complex the machine, the more computerized the more complex the wonky-ness. Also big machines are heavy...will you have someone to help you lug it out to the car for transport. Some can weigh as much as 40-50 lbs. Some machines brands are almost identical the difference in cost being the brand name. A difference in thousands sometimes. If you want an embroidery feature you will pay for it, is it worth the extra cost if you will only use it a couple of times a year for simple projects? Check first what dealers are most local to you and go do some cost and use comparisons. Lastly sewing machine dealers are like car dealers in that the manufacturer gives them a base price and then they can charge what they think the market will bear. So if you are comfortable with it dicker with them for discounts and extras. As I said I have had several high end machines, some purchases worked out better than others so all this info is hard won from success and failure, especially the long distance hauling of sewing machines back and forth to far away dealers. That sale price discount is swallowed up by time and gas dollars in the end. Good luck and I am here to tell you that being retired and having time to sew is wonderful and you will enjoy every minute of it all.