I have the Crescendo and thats the way I'd go. I tried a sit down from Babylock - think it was the Tiara, thought it was nice, but if I was buying one, I'd go for the bells and whistles because that's what I do most of. If you still want a bigger throat machine save up for that, but you'll still have the pleasure of a great sewing machine with many stitches and functions.

Thank you all for your advice. I truly appreciated each and every post. I was unable to log on all weekend on my phone but was able to post on my laptop today. So here is what I decided: I bought the Tiara! I am super excited. I think I will get the Crescendo on down the road sometime but for now I decided that I really wanted to learn to be a lot better at fmq. I think myself and my daughters will have a lot of fun with this machine in the future. I bought it from a dealer that is only a few blocks from my house. She is willing to answer any questions or problems that I might run into and she gave me a great deal. The Tiara had been her floor model for a long time and she had had very little interest in it. She was ready to have some floor space back (she has a very small shop). So, I bought it for $4000. I thought that was good because I have previously priced it at other shops and $5500 was the cheapest I had found it. Thank you to the poster who told me about the Yahoo group. I am planning on joining but haven't yet, although I did find a facebook group of Sweet 16/Tiara owners that I think will be very helpful. Anyway, I am very happy with my decision and very thankful for all of the input from you guys. :) Thank you, thank you!

Congratulations, Betharoo! You got a very good deal. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to take the plunge. I have tried one out and had a lot of fun with it but I didn't test the stitch regulator so I think I'll try it again this week using the regulator. It sounds like you didn't buy the stitch regulator. Did you try it and decide you didn't need it? I hope you'll post again with your opinions and progress with the Tiara.

Congratulations! I bet you'll love your new machine.

Betharoo--that is a great price!!! My LQS was selling their floor model Crescendo for $4200 so I'm sure if they had a Tiara (they don't have any large machines at my store) it would have been much more.

Thank you guys! AmBoo, yes I did get the stitch regulator and the essentials kit. It all came with it for that price. So far it has been fun to play with but I already have a list of questions for my lqs. They are closed on Mondays and Tuesday's so I am hoping to get a few things answered tonight. I feel like I have so much to learn. Good thing I'm young. Lol.