As far as any hobby is concerned, the machinery and accessories are usually the most expensive items to begin with, but when it comes to machine embroidery, I heard 20+years ago that the price of the machine was the cheapest part of the craft. I have found this to be so true because digitizing takes time and patience, and patterns cost a fortune because we try to collect everything we like and sadly, never find the time to make them all. However, when our body starts letting us down and we find sitting at a machine sewing patchwork, it can be comforting to know that we can alternate between styles and still enjoy our hobbies - patchwork and embroidery go hand in hand. Embroidery machines in Oz today can cost from A$399 to A$15,000!
A good idea is when asking for help from the Quilting Board, is to check back after the main responses because the best idea might be the last one posted.
Last edited by Ada Shiela; 03-18-2016 at 02:00 PM.
Reason: Adding info