Darby361

Thanks ladies!

Yes I may un-quilt the top eventually. Right now I had to walk away. Paulina - I am currently working on a table runner and I am quilting it with the regular presser foot. Thankfully the batting is thin so I can manage it.

I will go to a local shop. I think to start out I need a place where I can go and ask questions. Thank you for your opinions on different brands. I think it is interesting that so many brands used to be good but changed their standards.

Again, thank you, I will keep reading!

Havplenty

i have also considered an upgraded machine at some time so i will be watching this thread. i do love baby locks though (currently have 3 baby lock machines) and saw one nancy zieman used, the baby lock ellisimo. wow that is a budget buster.... but some day.

do your research. try out as many machines as possible. look at online reviews of the machines you test drive. make a list of things you like or not or things you find you need to have on the machines you test out. ask around at your local quilt shops. you will find that many are partial to the brands they use but be thorough in your research and you should find something that is right for you.

your brother should work for you it will take practice and some tweaking. you will get become a better quilter with time. stay encouraged.

NJ Quilter

What I did (and usually recommend to anyone who asks) is make up a spreadsheet with your 'wants' and 'needs'. Take a look online at the various machines out there and see what features they have. Add that info to your spreadsheet. Lastly I look at price. (I don't find you can get accurate pricing online for sewing machines anyhow). With your budget you will have many choices open to you. After that, go to your local dealers with, as others have said, practice pieces of things you typically make or even anticipate making. Check them all out then talk price. Most dealers will haggle on pricing or at least heavily discount the MSRP.

You may want to even consider an older, reconditioned machine at one of the dealers. You may get a bigger bang for your buck. FWIW, I have a Viking Platinum and love it. I don't do machine quilting so it more than covers my needs. Actually, I do MQ charity quilts that require it but otherwise no.

mltquilt

As others have said check out your local shops because service, training, and support are very important. My machines are Berninas and they may have some in your price range or good used ones. Other top brands such as Janome, Babylock, Elna to name some also have various machines that are excellent. Take your time and do not let anyone rush you into the first machine you test drive.

mltquilt

Kas

And do test drive! Bring a quilt project you are working on to test the machine with. Those little starched pieces of fabric they use in the store would work great in any machine. Test the freemotion quilting settings, too. You might want one that does this nicely in the future. It would be a major bummer to shell out thousands on a machine that STILL doesn't let you do what you want to do creatively. Ya know?

sewmary

And I beg to differ on the Pfaff and Viking machines.

I have a fairly new(2 years old) Viking (no service issues)and just bought a Pfaff Ambition which is comparable to my older Pfaff in materials and functions - both are great machines and both come in under $1000. To each their own when it comes to machines. More important to have service available because no matter how wonderfull everyone swears "their" machine is, sooner or later it needs a trip in, at least for a cleaning.

Nanaquilts44

I have a Baby Lock which I love. Mine is a Quilter's Choice but I think they have renamed it. It sews beautifully.

DogHouseMom

Darby

I completely understand your "but WHAT should I shop for question"

If you want one machine to do it all (piece, quilt, and possibly even garment sew) then you need to look for ONE machine that will do ALL of that.

Some features I NEED for quilting: Wide harp area (9" minimum, preferably more), needle up/down, extra high presser foot lever (easier to position the quilt under the needle), the ability to drop the feed dogs, and unless you have a sewing table that you can drop the machine into for a full flat bed - make sure your machine comes with a nice wide table to slide on to the side for stabilizing the quilt . It's also important to try both the walking foot and the free motion foot on the machine you are thinking about buying to make sure you like the way they work. Make sure YOU change both of the feet so you know if they're tricky or easy. Look at all the available walking and free motion feet to make sure they have the kind that you want (ie walking foot with a 1/4" guide is helpful, and do you like a closed or open toe FMQ foot, and do you prefer metal or plastic?).

Some features I NEED for piecing: an integrated walking foot (OK I don't "need" it but your $2K budget should not be a problem getting it! I LOVE mine with 1/4" guide for piecing long strips), micro-step needle position (I want to be able to change the needle position by the width of a thread for accurate 1/4" seams - not just left, right and center), thread cutter (again - don't need it but your budget is not a problem finding it), multiple stitches and the ability to adjust the length and width (if applicable), and an easy to remove bobbin plate and easy to clean bobbin area (I'm a constant cleaner!).

Good lighting is a bonus, but you can get around that with well positioned Ott light (o similar). The lock stitch is nice, but to be honest I rarely use it. I might start

Do you plan on taking it to class often? Weight might be a consideration, or if not the weight, see if the dealer will throw in a wheelie bag with the machine, or consider the price of buying one (if you don't have one).

Test drive the machine for all the functions you want to do, make sure that YOU are the one performing all the functions like changing presser feet, winding bobbins, etc. Make sure your comfortable with the foot pedal, or find out if a different one can be used. Also, don't be afraid to look at high end used machines offered by dealers. They usually service them before they sell them, and offer a limited warranty, support, and classes.

If it was me on a 2K budget I'd look at the Janome 6600, or if you can find it at the right price a Janome Horizon 7700. I have the 6600 and would love the few extra inches of harp space the 7700 offers. I *think* my dealer offers the 7700 at $2199 with the wheelie case, 12 spools of thread, and the folding table that the machine drops into. If I didn't already have the 6600 I'd snatch that deal up!!

Good luck!!

pinkberrykay

I have been in the market to upgrade, I am a Janome fan and was looking at the 6600P. After reviewing specs and test driving it at my dealer I realized the "throat" was the same size as my DC3050. I have decided to go with the Janome Horizon which has an 11" throat.

Doreen

Look into Bernina. In this area, there are trade -ins that are reasonabley priced. They discontinued the 440 Qe and people have been trading up. My girlfriend got a 440 for 1K. iT WAS ONLY A YEAR OLD.