Originally Posted by amma
Needle down, and the ability to move the needle left/right.
Blanket stitch, a few other decorative stitches, needle threader and a 5mm stitch width, but 7mm is nicer :wink: :D:D:D
Amma, I'm with you. I have a Janome 4000, the most basic computerized machine. It has needle up/down which is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL!! And I can adjust the needle left or right, and that too, I think is VERY important. It has a lot of stitches, but I really only use the straight, ziz-zag and blanket stitches, and not often on the latter, although I have used the decorative stitches and alphabet on occasion.
When I got mine, my best friend and quilt teacher had a top of the line Bernina. I'm talking the multi-thousand dollar one. Well, I was a brand new quilter (and sewer) and during the course of making my grandfather's quilt, we swapped machines (we always sewed in her studio together). I wasn't that crazy about the 'nina (sorry 'nina lovers) and she decided that she thought my little basic machine sewed better than her top of the line 'nina. Sooo, now she has a 1600P.
I LOVE my old Janome 4000, and it does an awesome job. BUT, I can't wait to get the 4000 with it's built in even feed and the automatic thread cutter!!
If you are only going to be quilting, then the aforementioned functions are all you really need. The rest is bells and whistles.
Good luck with your decision. In the end, it's completely up to you, not any of us, with our bazillion different opinions.