Many thanks to everyone who gave a reply! Your input was truly helpful. I spent several hours each day this week going to all the dealers in my area, some of them multiple times. I tried out most of the machines listed here that were in my price range, including the Pfaff 4.2, Janome 6600 & 6700, Babylock Aria, Juki, Brother, Elna, and Bernina. Seeing all those machines and reading online (& watching a bunch of YouTube videos) really helped me narrow down what I wanted. I came very, very close to purchasing a floor model Janome 6600. It was a great price! I didn't read a single bad review of that machine, it was very intuitive to use, and it met all my criteria. However, I had some MAJOR concerns about the dealer...and so I pulled out of the purchase at the last minute.
In the end, I wound up buying the very first machine I had looked at--a Bernina 570QE (without embroidery). I really fell in love with that machine, and the store/dealer was just amazing, for a number of reasons I won't list here. This whole process opened my eyes to how important the dealer is. (I will add that they also offered me the floor model of the 770QE at a steal of a price. I was tempted, but in the end, it was just way more machine than I need.) The whole process was very educational, and I learned a lot about what I wanted and didn't want. I should have done this years ago. Thank you again, everyone, for your help! Happy quilting!
Last edited by JMS2017; 09-14-2017 at 04:28 AM.