Thank you all for wonderful information! Now I realize it's the height from top to bottom, not so much the distance to the right of the needle (though lovely to have) that makes the difference. Having wrestled (like a circus bear) my q-sized quilt in the tiny harp of my current machine, I totally understand where that height comes in VERY handy.
Having googled the SINGER models NZQuilter recommended, I see why folks hang on to these machines, and also why those featherlite (sp?) are beloved!
At the end of the day, Juki appears to be the winner. I can continue to assemble quilt tops, and sew garments, however, I can't wait to see my savings grow to the point of bringing home a Juki. (providing something around the house/car doesn't break and gobble up my Jukie $$ - houses/life seems to always be on stand by for stuff like that hehe).
The quality of stitching on the little Brother machine isn't bad, but I know it could be a bit nicer - and I have some beautiful 11oz Cone denim for some jeans I'd like to make, but I doubt the Brother will handle denim (esp top stitched seams). The Juki should whip through it w/no issues.
I *tried* to FMQ on my Brother machine (pot holder project) using the included foot (clear plastic). It was tough.
Then I bought one of those slider sheets, it was still tough.
Then I bought a 1/4" foot for use with dsm fmq rulers (yeah, and a couple of rulers). I put that 1/4" fmq foot on, and lawdy, I could barely move the fabric. The foot pressure is strong when using the quilting setting, so I realized pretty fast fmq-ing on this machine ain't happenin'. (Can't seem to adjust the foot pressure, but this a.m. realized there's a presser foot locking pin that might solve this dilemma)
So at the end, I started off w/a 200.00 machine to learn to quilt. Tired of not being able to find clothes to fit (6' tall - long sleeves/long pants in size 18 are either $$$$$$ or non-existent), I decided "OH, I need to start sewing again! Wait, I should get a serger... Oh, I this machine is too small for quilting, I need a different machine....
Now I have two (soon to be three) machines, a "paunch" of a quilting stash, rulers, interfacings, fusibles, asst'd tailoring tools, built a 36x72" work table, eyeballing a new iron...saving for a Juki... Meanwhile, I think "Who would spend 6k on a machine?" (and then I look around and laugh...)