For a number of years, I did all my quilting on a domestic machine. I love free motion quilting and ruler work, so I upgraded to a bigger machine (Brother PQ1500) and then eventually upgraded again to a used HQ Sweet Sixteen sit down model. I've had no problems with any of my machines, they all have done a great job FMQ for me and are quite reliable. However, because I do a whole lot of quilting, I've noticed that I'm starting to develop some problems in my hands that are set off if I quilt for more than about 1/2 hour per day (bummer). As a result, I'm considering switching to a machine on a frame- I've done a little bit of quilting with my Brother PQ1500 on a Cutie frame and found it to be very enjoyable, but it doesn't offer enough room to do the kinds of things I like to do. I've also done a little bit on an HQ Amara, but found that I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoy my sit down Sweet 16. It felt heavy and even though it has a 20" throat space I still was a bit frustrated at the limitations of the throat space- As a sit down quilter, I'm used to just being able to move around the quilt and do any size motif I want without regard to throat space. If I do switch to a frame machine, I'll spend a lot of time trying out machines to find one that doesn't feel heavy to me as I found the Amara very tiring to use. I've never sent my quilts out to someone else to be quilted, so I can't speak to how owning a mid-arm compares to sending quilts out to someone else.
Anyway, every time I've upgraded my quilting set up I've been glad I did.
Rob