Thanks everyone. I've done a lot of FMQ, but always on lap size or smaller quilts and my two Brother machines have done a great job for me with them. But, my last 3 quilts have been larger quilts and am finding that even though I've got good support on the sides and behind my machine, the throat space is just not enough for anything larger than double bed size without splitting my top and batting. The queen size I'm working on now is uncomfortably tight even though I split the batting. I was hoping that the PQ1500s or the Juki 2010q would work for what I want, since I have a limited budget and could afford to go with the PQ1500s (internet price) right now. Unfortunately I can't test drive the Juki 2010, the Brother Pq1500s or the Janome because there aren't dealers near me who stock those models so I really can't know for sure. The local Brother dealer will special order the PQ1500s, but there's just no way I can try any of these machines before buying. At any rate, the more I think about it and read what folks are saying, it sounds like maybe there isn't enough difference between those three machines in terms of actual working space and what I've got right now for it to be worth my while spending the $$.
I think for now I'm probably better off just continuing to quilt my larger quilts in smaller sections while saving my $$ for a machine with a 10 or 11" throat.
