rryder

Several ideas:

You might want to look at the new Baby Lock Allegro. It has 11 or 12" of throat space and also the other things on your list- speed control, drop feed dogs, some stitches that would be good for appliqué, etc. and runs around $1300. It's a brand new this year machine so I haven't seen any info from folks who actually have one and use it.

Like others, I have multiple machines for different things.

Since you are already using a Brother machine and like it, you might want to stop by a Brother dealer and check out what they've got available. I know that there are several Brother machines that will do all the things you want- depends on your budget. Prices for Brother machines that do sewing, but not embroidery, at dealers range from $1300 for a model that had 8.5" throat space and lots of decorative stitches, all the way up to over $3000 for a machine with 11 or 12" throat space and lots of bells and whistles.

My go to piecing machine is a Brother PQ1500 straight stitch only machine is my go to for piecing and for many years it was also the machine that I used for FMQ as it has 9" of throat space plus enough height to provide good visibility around the needle. Very similar to the Juki that others have suggested. Runs around $700 new, but used ones can be found for $350 - $500. Very sturdy Mechanical machine with all the stuff you want except for the stitches for appliqué.

For fancy stitches I use a Brother PC420 (similar to the 1900 you're currently using, but it doesn't do embroidery).

For most of my quilting these days I use my Sweet Sixteen sit down quilter- these can be found used at great prices now because Handiquilter has come out with two newer and larger sit down quilters. I've seen them going used for between $2500 and $3500.

As others have said, there are lots of good machines out there, it's just a matter of testing them out and seeing which one(s) feel right to you.

Rob