Desi

Hello,

As you can see, this is my first post. I've made about 3 quilts with my mother over the past 5-6 years and now she is gone and I'm ready to venture out quilting on my own and I'm so excited to get started again.

I'm looking at the Baby Lock machines and specifically the Sofia2 and Allure Plus - of course, there's a definite price difference, but the Sofia2 is now on a fantastic sale through authorized dealers.....I just called my local shop and they will honor the price which is $699.00 which is in my budget and has trade-in ability for 1 year for full-price.

The Allure Plus is $1750.00 at the same dealer.

http://babylock.com/spring/ - there are several machines on sale here.

Anyone have some good advise to offer, to help me decide which way to go?

Great forum, love the conversations and I've gleaned tons of great information here!!!!

Thanks,

Louise

QuiltnNan

sorry, i can't help you with the machines... just wanted to welcome you to the QB

girliegirl

I have the Babylock Esante... when I bought it is was like 4500$ go for the lesser, you will never use all the extras on it if you just sew....

MadQuilter

I have a Baby Lock Espire (which is now the Symphonie) and I love her. Sewing is a joy with that machine. Don't know about the Sophia specifications though. A lot depends on which features you need and how the machine matches those expectations.

Prism99

I'm no expert on Baby Lock machines. I looked at the Sofia2 and it looks like it would be a good introductory sewing and embroidery machine (and piecing machine), good for taking to classes because of its light weight, but not so good for machine quilting because of its small harp. I guess I would hesitate to purchase this machine for quilting. Are you sure you want to get into embroidery? Most people who start out with an introductory embroidery machine quickly find the small design size limiting and want to upgrade to a separate embroidery machine that can handle larger designs.

Taking just a cursory look at the Ellure Plus, again it is a combined sewing and embroidery machine. If you are serious about embroidery, it is often a good idea to purchase one machine for sewing/quilting and a separate machine for embroidery. This way, while the machine is sewing out a design, you can be piecing or quilting on the other machine. It looks to me as if the harp size is larger on this machine, but not as large as say a Janome 6500P (which I think is in the same price range).

Are you absolutely sure you want Baby Lock? Usually when shopping for a new machine you determine your price range first and then list the features you want -- things such as needle down, presser foot lifter, decorative stitches, etc. and then try out machines with those specs in several different brands. It seems to me the two machines you listed are in such radically different price ranges there really is not a good way to compare them. You might want to do more research before basing a purchase decision simply on a sale. There are ways to get good sale prices on machines at many times throughout the year.

zipit

I have the Sophia and it's a very nice little machine. I have taken it to retreats and it is light enough to carry easily and heavy enough not to bounce when you're sewing.

trennag

I love my baby lock symphony, but both machines you have listed are embroidery and neither one comes with any quilting feet (walking foot, 1/4 inch foot) so you would have to purchase those in addition to your machine. Also consider that if your going to machine quilt your quilts the throat space is limited on both. You might want to go to your local dealer and test drive the machines.

Desi

I thank you for the welcome and all the good advice. I'm really just getting started and also wondered if I just didn't want to get a sewing and quilting machine and then at some point maybe an embroidery machine. Everything I hear is about trading up and I'm sure I might be a little underwhelmed with the 4x4 hoop.

As for quilting, I have never tried that nor do I know if I want to....I still need to investigate that option as well.
So many questions.......will keep reading and researching....

Louise

Dolphyngyrl

If you aren't FMQ your quilts the sofia should be fine starter machine. you don't want to spend a lot on a machine unless you are absolutely sure embroidery is what you want to do. it is also expensive for the add ons of stabilizer, thread desins software so take that also into consideration for your budget. I would set a budget and write down features you are interested in and try several babylocks in that range, then try a few ones that may be a little higher to see if it would even be something you are interested in the future. Sales happen all the time so don't let that sway you. Also they might have some older models that have more features in your price range that someone just traded in. I got a gently used espire for 1800 at the time they retailed for 3500, and then I got 2600 for my trade in value. Me personally I don't mind having 1 machine because I don't sew often enough to need a separate embroidery unit.

Monika

Welcome from Northern CA! I have a Babylock that I love, but not one with any embroidery. You have gotten some great advice here. I agree you need to think about what you enjoy doing. I wanted to be able to quilt my own as well as piece so I went for a large harp, but you may not need that.