Thanks to all of you for the welcome. Not surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be that many men on this site.

Looking for a new sewing machine is a daunting task. There are so many options out there and there are many brands that seem to have quality. At this point, I've narrowed my list down to:
- Janome
- Brother
- Babylock

That is funny because going into this, we were looking at Viking OR Bernina. We also like Bernina, but there seems to be too much price gouging for their accessories. We do plan to look at the new 700 machines that are just now coming out - I think that was this weekend at Bernina University? My initial impression is that the Bernina machines are not as intuitive to use. But that impression is not based on use, so I need to be open.

My wife and I like what the top of the line machines do, but it is so hard to justify the cost. And we ask ourselves if we're really going to use it that much, need all of those options. Then looking at the other models, the number of models to pick from makes me want to run screaming into the night! I suppose having too many options to pick from is not a valid reason to spend so much though...

We are signed up for a "Test Drive" on the Janome 12000 on Saturday. That may not be a good thing to do, as it could make it very hard to then get a lower end machine. lol.

Thanks again for the welcomes. Any advice on machine brands would still be helpful. I think the dealer is also important - maybe up to 20-35% of it. Time to get to my day job.

Welcome from Michigan!:)

:) welcome from se TX

Welcome from Vancouver (USA) - It is so good to see a couple get interested in quilting. Looking forward to updates on your journey.

Hi and welcome from Kentucky!

Welcome Jim! Good luck in your search for machines. It's not easy and everyone needs something a little different.

Hi Jim, welcome from NE Ohio.

My comfort zone is still Designer 1 , but I am growing into my SE. My friend who lives in Laveen still uses her Des 1 too and she also has a Pfaff............calla

Hello Jim!
Welcome from Minnesota!
Go to some dealers and "test drive" some machines!
(kinda like you do a car!!)
Have fun!! :)

We are signed up for a 12000 test drive on Saturday. There's 6 in these classes and it sounded like there may be a "special" offer afterwards. We're also thinking maybe the 7700 and separate embroidery machine is a better way to go, but my wife talked to the sales lady today on the phone and she was really talking up the 12000. My wife is going in to talk to her today and look at the other machines before we do the test drive. The 12000 looks like a great machine, but it is so costly it makes it hard to justify.

The other interesting thing is the sales lady is really recommending the Janome 12000 over the Brother Quattro 2 with both at the same $9k price. She says the Janome will handle harder sewing better like dense embroidery. Also, her husband works there in repair and he sees Janome the least. I think the Brother is more intuitive to use, but the Janome is more of a workhorse and I like the design better in robustness and form (no embroidery unit off to the left side). But that's just my impression.