NYGAL--For you " even more important to me would be you can stop and come back to the machine another day and pick right up where you stopped the day before to finish your design!! " YOU CAN do this, if your machine has "forward" (and most have forward & reverse), or if you have the skip to next thread color. I would note the stitch number, cut the thread & turn off machine. Next day, turn on & select the same design--move FORWARD, or skip to thread color and forward to stitch count number, and continue to stitch out. Try a sample to get the ''hang of it''. Took me a while to catch on to this because I don't read manuals very well--I tend to jump into the fray, as the saying goes! I hope you are successful.

Definitely look at the refurbished, class models, etc. You get more bang for your buck.

Janome 350E is what I have and it is very user friendly and I bet you could find one used from a dealer with so many new machines coming out. I agree with the others nothing smaller than the 5x7 . I wish Janome would come out with an embroidery only with a larger embroidery field than 5x7 I would be a new machine owner. I am not interested in the sewing /embroidery combo or the big price of the newer machines with the bigger fields. But test drive a few machines before buying. Happy hunting!!!

How much do you want to spend, is it emb only
I started out on a brother pc3500, and enddd up in the casket business using a tajima 15 needle.
I k ow happy makes a 6 needle for home use. That means you can put six diff. Threads on the machine at a time, usually program up to 99 color changes at a time, so you can walk out of the room, come back an hour later and your design is done ( the 15 needlee i worked on held 15 colors, i punch in the colors, up to 99 color changes go to lunch come back andit was done).
Very quickly, you'll want more colors, designs and the ability to manipulate your designs and lettering.
keep all this in mind,because aftter family and frieds fi d out you have the machine, they will all want someething. Good luck

I would go to your local 'Sewing Machine Store' and really pick their brains....have them do demos and explain how you get the designs to the machine, hoop sizes, etc....etc....etc.... once you understand the principles then you will be able to make a more informed decision regarding what you want to do and how much you want to spend.....I have owned two Brother machines and really love them....Remember to ask about the computer software, if it comes with the machine or is it in addition to .....Some machines you need to connect the machine to the computer, some use cards (which don't hold a lot of patterns) and the newer ones now use a USB fashdrive, which can hold thousands of patterns.....I have been doing embroidery since 1998, and at one point had close to 10,000 designs. There are a tons of places on the interent that have both free and for sale designs, that will be your primary sourse for the designs.

I agree with getting one with a larger hoop than 4x4. I have a lot of hoops for mine but not all that are available but have never used the 4x4 one yet. You don't want to outgrow it or get frustrated before you learn it. I have two Vikings and I love them. I would suggest either buying from a LQS or finding a place to get lessons. My LQS doesn't care if you have a Viking or anything else you can join the classes and I know that the sew and vac has a monthly embroidery club and you can get support from something like that as well. Unless you are someone who can read a manual and pick it up support is the key to keeping up with using an emb machine. So many get frustrated and quit before they really get started. Go to the different stores and test drive all of them; even if they are out of your price range because it's nice to know what is out there and it'll give you a better understanding of what a machine can do. I knew some before I got my Ruby but I'm still learning it can do so much more. I just got a big software package and have now designed two designs which is pretty great; for me anyhow. I love the creative feeling you get from the emb; for me, it's more than I get from quilting even though I explore in quilting and have done different things. Start checking them out and you'll find a good fit for you or at least know what the minimum limitations of a machine you want and what you won't do without in a machine.

Does anyone know if they can reset the refurbished machine’s stitch count (or hour count) back to zero, or are you getting an accurate count?

On my Brother machine, one number can be re-set, so the technician knows how long it has been between service, but my machine also has another number that can not be reset......but like the odometer on a car I would guess if there is a will there may be a way......

thank you for asking this! ive read the responses, its something ive been debating as well. thank you!

Thanks. I remember hearing that when a system upgrade was done on some machines, it did a total reset. I don’t do upgrades, and was always curious.