I have a Babylock Quest Plus, that I love and is very similar to the Janome 6600 everyone is telling you about. I do have to agree the best thing would be to somehow take her and let her decide on which machine would be best for her. There are so many things involved in purchasing a machine, and the first one is a dealer that will be there when you need them. Also, you want one that will offer classes on the new machine purchased. Today's machine come with so many extras, and not all of them are necessarily important to each person. Since she probably will use this machine for other things besides quilting, what is things would she want? I happen to really like decorative stitches and I even us them on my quilts. Its pretty hard to give you good solid advice without knowing what she thinks is important for her sewing needs. Good luck and be sure to let us know what you do decide on.

Brother pq 1500s. Straight stitch only. Solid, powerful, doesn't need all the servicing (at $100 or so a pop) that the fancier machines need. About 699 on Amazon. This will do the job - but it does not have much in the way of bells and whistles, not even a zig zag. I agree with others, you might want to let her decid after trying some else. Not as much fun for a surprise . .

I agree with either of these machines, this is right on for your price point. The next step up would be a full out Mid arm machine. What you are shopping for is throat space (the space between the needle and the housing.
These machines are :
Long 6"X9" Arm Space Right Of Needle

9" is from needle to head of machine

6" is height from sewing bed to top of underarm

Note...both these machines only do a straight stitch but its a quilting machine and thats whats needed. And they are high speed which is nice. I commend you on your efforts to find your wife the perfect machine.

I have a Brother PQ1500S. It is WONDERFUL!!!! You can get it on Amazon for about $700.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...wsusanmalle-20

It doesn't do embroidery or zig-zag stitches. It just does a single line of stitches, which is perfect for piecing and quilting. It's really fast and strong and heavy, which is just what I was looking for. I've only done a thin quilt so far, two layers of cotton fabric with a thin layer of batting in between, but I don't think it will have a problem with thicker quilts. (Of course, they will always be tricky to maneuver.) It does a straight stitch, meaning a single line of stitches, but your wife will be able to sew curves, etc. with it, such as this:

what is a box feed system?

OH let her pick out her own .. I have done that with my machines: I had a Kenmore for 25 years before it died, then I bought a Riccar (mini) it was okay, then I found Brother- Love it ;my next machine will be a Babylock Ellismo (I think that is the spelling on it!).Babylock is the big brother to Brother machines, and I am happy with them.
Be sure to tell her to go online and look around, then I agree- take her shopping... She will love it
AND welcome to the board-tell the wifey to sign on and she will learn so much (as I have) from the wonderful people on here.

I sent you a PM, please check your private message file.
Diana in TX

I just have to jump in and add, while getting a sewing machine for "heavy" fabrics is really sweet, how many "jeans" quilts is she likely to make? If her first quilt had been more standard, she might like a different kind of quilt. Also, as this is her first, she just may decide she isn't really a quilter after all. Maybe you should consider waiting a bit, maybe for Christmas, if she still has the bug. One last comment, does it really have to be a surprise. Quilting is very personal, it might work out better if she had the opportunity to sit at a few machines to see if they fit her physically.

I sent a PM to you.
Janome 6600 is one of the best quilting machines, as you can see from some of the responses.
Lots of features that quilters love for a very reasonable price.
Accufeed built in so you don't have to use a walking foot for bulky fabrics.
Automatic Thread cutter GREAT FOR PIECING QUILTS.
Start/Stop feature for sewing long seams without using a foot pedal.
Separate motor for winding bobbins.
This is a workhorse of a machine. I own two.
Diana in TX

I have a Janome 6600P that I bought used from a dealer. I just love it ! It has a big throat space to fit a quilt into, a built in walking foot. It does everything I need it to do. I haven't regretted my purchase. I too had a $300 machine that just wasn't cutting it for quilting.