I also would recommend a Janome they are very user friendly and the instruction book that comes with the machine
is very easy to follow. I have three Janome machines and just love to sit down by them and sew. I have two embroidery machines and one is the Horizon for quilting which is very neat to quilt and sew. Good Luck with your findings.

Oooh, I like the sound of dual feed dogs! Thank you!

Thank you! I'll check for Janome dealers in my area. I love the idea of taking the machine for a test-drive at the store. That's what I'm hoping for, so I can find one I really love.

If your main purpose is quilting spend less and go Vintage for now. I just bought a Singer 301 for $300. The stitches it makes are better than the mid priced newer machines. It also came with an automatic zigzagger should you need that. But for chain piecing vintage machines are great. You can go slightly newer vintage and get some with reverse. I've sold one 4 year old Viking and will be selling another when I fiinsh a project because I like the vintage machines so well. And they are simple enough you can work on them yourself with help from the vintage section of the board.

Oooh! I just discovered that there's a dealer within 10 miles of my house that sells Janome, Brother, and Pfaff!

Thank you, Cheryl! I must admit, all these newer computerized models seem a lot fancier than what I need. Vintage holds a lot of appeal.

I also say go to the local dealer. I got a used Janome DC2011, it had all the feet with it, for $225! I could have gotten a free class on how to use it too but I like to learn as I go but he said if I had any questions to call and he would help me out. Good luck on your search of a new machine, I love my Janome!

I too would recommend a quality used machine. But do get it from a dealer that will give you some warrenty on the machine. People upgrade all the time and prefectly good machines can be had for fractions of the cost of new.
Do note a word of caution.. getting more machine than what you are comfortable with is not always the best choice... some machine can be very overwhelming to a relatively new quilter. I taught a woman who bought a very expensive machine , she really was confused by all the functions and settings the machine had .. and clearly was afraid of breaking it.. so her reluctance to "use" the screen and change anything was limiting her enjoyment.

I love my Brother 1500s. It's a straight stitch only machine with a 9 inch throat. I use my little machine when I want to do a different stitch for applique or whatever.

I prefer Pfaffs due to their built in walking foot. I sewed clothing for 40 years on sewing machines without a walking foot, but when I started quilting I found much better results with the Pfaff. I was frustated using my "clothing" sewing machine for quilts. At the end of quilt strips I would always be off (ends not matching). So, I bought two used Pfaffs off EBay - they are the best machines I have ever had - I love them. I got a Pfaff 1475 and a Quilt Edition 7570 - both wonderful. The newer Pfaffs are now made in China, not Germany, so I prefer the older models. All the gals in my quilt friendship group have Pfaffs and would have nothing else. I would recommend going on EBay and seeing what is up for auction. I bought mine using the "Buy Now" method and paid around $600 for each machine. You just have to be patient.