I would recommend one in your price range that had a hoop that is larger than 4X4.

A lot has been said about the Brothers and looks like it is a good one to look at. Does anyone have a Janome -- big or small that can comment on how they like them.

I have the Husqvarna/Viking Topaz 20, it is an embroidery/sewing machine. Depending on what you want to call mid-range, I got a deal on it since it was a floor model. It has been replaced with the Topaz 25 - I do love it because it has the 200mm x 260 mm hoop which does what I want it to do. I also have 2 smaller hoops but they are rarely used.

My friend has the Brother PE770 - she got it primarily because Disney allows Brother to do their designs. But hers will not take the larger hoops. Hers will only do the 5 x 7 and she learned embroidery on my machine. So if she wants something larger, she comes over and uses my machine.

Just know that whatever you buy you need to invest in an embroidery program. And when you do - make sure it works with the computer you own. (Mine was not Mac friendly, so I had to buy an HP laptop. As it turned out I needed it for other reasons so not a bad thing.)

Go visit the dealers and if possible go to a quilt show where a bunch of dealers are all in one place.

What s your budget? "Medium priced" is vague. ;)

sandy

I love my Janome 9900. I upgraded from the Janome 9700 because I wanted the USB . The color screen is great. It "remembers" where you left off in the design stitch out even if you turn off the machine. It is a combo machine. MSRP is $4999.00. I purchased the floor model for much less than MSRP. I bought Embrilliance for the software. I do not digitize. Too many nice designs on the market.

Sandy

Husqvarna Viking recently came out with an entry level embroidery/sewing machine. It is the Jade and has a 240x150mm (9 ½" x 6") hoop. Looks like a pretty sweet machine.

Quiltingcandy said you need to invest in embroidery software. This is NOT necessary unless you want to create your own designs, and there are thousands of designs available at reasonable prices. I buy most of my designs from embroiderylibrary.com when they are on sale or I have a "coupon". I save the design on my computer by emblib number and name, print the picture along with the color change sheet and save the printouts in binders. When I want to embroider the design I download it to my USB stick and use the color change sheets to tell me when to change thread colors. I tried a free introductory offer on a very expensive software and found that I didn't need it so I didn't buy.

I, too, have the Brother PE770. I also have another model of Brother machine (sorry, don't remember the model #) that only accommodates the 4x4 hoop, so I now have one with the 5x7 hoop, which I recommend. My DH just got it for me for my b'day, and he paid $570.00 off the internet....

I did have the Janome 350E embroidery ONLY machine & it was okay but only did small designs. No larger than 4 x 4 (I think) it may have done 5 x 7 but I can't remember. I wanted a more advanced machine (when I could afford it) so finally sold the Janome & just purchased the Husqvarna Epic, the new sewing/embroidery machine from Husqvarna. It is not for the feint of heart though as it is very expensive. In Canada, it costs almost as much or more than a small car. For once in my life, my hubby told me to "go for it" which I did. It is an absolutely AWESOME machine. It does everything except put dinner on the table!! LOL I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Epic.

I believe Walmart has a Brother(?) machine that has a 5x7 hoop. If you are just looking to do simple red work look at it.

I to have a Janome 12000 and absolutely love it, but if you are just looking to do red work start with the inexpensive to see how you like it.