The only "upgrade" I've done is to buy machines that do something my other machines don't do as well. So, for instance, I wanted some decorative stitches and the option to move the needle so I could be a bit more accurate in piecing--both are things that my 1981 mechanical Brother VX560 didn't do--I kept it as a backup machine and purchased (from Amazon) the Brother PC420 when it went on sale there in 2011. Then I found the Featherweight in a junk store and bought it to clean up and put on Ebay, but while cleaning it I decided I liked it, so....but that's the only one that was a just because purchase--and it's a lot more portable than any of my others, so that's sort of an upgrade. The next machine to show up was the used PQ1500s that I bought specifically for the increased throat space as I was getting tired of pushing large quilts through the 7" space on the two Brother machines and was up against a deadline to finish a number of pieces for a solo show I was scheduled to have in a local gallery. So that was an upgrade in a way. Then I was given the White. I bought the Kenmore off Ebay because it does a better/easier job than my other machines with a rattail binding technique that I like to use on some of my fiber arts projects. Then the original PC420 stopped feeding, and the repair was going to cost $300-- for $20 more I got a new one from Home Depot- and can use the original PC420 for FMQ when I want to do ZigZag FMQ or use the decorative stitches to FMQ since it does everything except feed.
For me, all these purchases made sense for a couple of reasons-- I like to work on multiple projects at once, so having multiple machines set up means I can move from one project to another without taking the time to change how a particular machine is set up. Each machine does something (that I need to do in my fiber art work) better than the others and because they are all inexpensive, they fit my budget. I'm very happy with my choices.
What I'm getting at is that everyone is different in what they need/want in a machine-- maybe making a checklist of what you would like to have that your current machine doesn't have would be a starting point to deciding about upgrading.
Rob
Last edited by rryder; 12-06-2017 at 03:50 PM.