I agree!!

I have been drooling over the new Janome Horizon. Go to a dealer and try one. Big throat.

I really like my new Viking Sapphire with the 10" throat and have been FMQ on it. I purchased it locally to save the hassle of having to drive for 2 hours to get a machine serviced so keep that in mind when making your purchase.

My Janome 4000 has the same lock stitch at beginning and end. Wish I had the thread cut off thingy and the presser foot lift.

Which dealer is closest to you? How good are they with service after the sale? I own 4 Viking machines and love every one- bought the first because I could not get the Bernina dealer to wait on me and seel me a machine - and I have NEVER regretted this for a second. Many of the machines in that price range have similar features....but the classes and service that you get with the sale are so very important.

Crickett, I have been researching and drooling over the Horizon too, so I went yesterday to closest dealer - tried it out and absolutely loved it. It came home with me! And it sews perfect stitches, I even can free motion with it & my stitches look better than they ever have with my other machine. I've had another brand for about 8 years, paid a lot for it, and this is far superior!
This was my Christmas present to me. :D

I bought Janome about 3 months ago just love it. I have the Horizon 7700. I looked At Babylock ,great machine but people at that store are not very welcoming. Looked at verizon, avery nice machine, but i've been to 4 stores in my area looking for help with my{used} embridery machine, they couldn't or wouldn't help because I didn't buy it from them.

I have the Husqvarna Viking Designer I, Designer II Quilting Machine and the Designer SE/LE. I quilt on all of them depending on what I am doing. I would not have bought the Designer II if I had known how good the Des. I and SE would do on quilting. On my heavier quilts I always bring out my old Bernine 1230 (25 yrs. old) and go to town. This machine is a work horse and has never let me down. I would look at several shops and fish for the best buy for your money. If you "test" drive all of the machines you will know the feel when you see it. With a budget of 2/3K you should be able to find a really good machine. I bought two of my machines second hand from dealers and didn't have a moments problem with either one of them. I would certainly shop price wise because there are a lot of machines out there and if quilting is all you really want a machine for you won't have to pay for all of the bells and whistles which come on a lot of the machines out there. I find myself doing only certain things on all of my machines and that way I don't have to adjust or readjust every time I sit down to sew. I wish you the very best on your journey to find just the right "girl" for you. Be sure to let us know what you find out there and what you decide on.

You sure can get a Bernina for around $3,000! I have a 440 QE (with BSR) that my husband bought me a year ago for that price. I didn't want the embroidery unit with it but if you did I think it's roughly another $1,000.

I really, really love my Bernina but I haven't used any other machines so don't have much to compare it to (other than the cheap Walmart Brother that I had before). I think what is really important is to go with a brand that you like that has a good dealer near you. You will need to go to them for servicing and other possible issues so you want someone you can easily get help from.

Good luck on your machine search!

Yep! I agree. My first Bernina was a 440QE and I loved her! I had the embroidery module also and once I started, I wanted to embroider anything that wasn't moving 8-) I now have a 730E with embroidery and the fund continues.

Congrats on your new machine! Enjoy!