Originally Posted by rryder

If you are happy with the Bernina for your other sewing needs and are planning on keeping it, then I would look a sit down mid arms and also the straight stitch only machines like the Brother PQ1500s and the Juki 2010.

I have the HQ Sweet Sixteen sit down and love it. I got a great deal on it used. Before I bought it I spent a couple of years going to quilt shows and trying out all the sit downs that were available. I found that I liked them all and would have been happy with any, but I did have some favorites- My three top choices, in no particular order were: the Juki like Sewbiz’s machine, the HQ Sweet Sixteen and the Innova sit down. My budget wouldn’t accomodate purchasing one of these new, so once I’d decided to take the leap, it became a matter of keeping an eye out for a used machine in my price range.

Before buying the Sweet Sixteen I Used my Brother PQ1500s (also purchased used) for quilting, it’s similar to the Juki 2010 that SusiQOH mentioned. The Brother PQ1500s or the Juki2010 (there’s a newer model of this one out there) are widely available both used and new for under $1,000 (Used PQs run around $350, not sure about the price for a used juki2010). They both are workhorses when it comes to quilting and have better visibility under the needle than the Janome 6600. If your budget And space allow, then the sit down mid-arms would be a good option.

There are lots of good choices out there, it just depends on your budget, space and personal preferences which would work best for you.

Rob