Hi All,
I really enjoy hearing from other quilters about their favorite make and model sewing machine for quiltmaking. I just sold my Bernina 820 machine. Although it is a fabulous machine for general sewing, including heirloom, garment, etc. I personally felt it was not the perfect choice for quilters. It does have a hugh harp which would entice you to think it answers all of us quilters' demands, but even the BSR works better on the 430/440, 630/640, 200/730 machines. I am currently using my Berina 230 machine which I absolutely love, but I don't feel it is suited to be a primary machine.

In addition to Bernina owners, I would love to hear from Janome, Pffaff and Viking owners.

In stitches,
Roberta in CNY

I have a Bernina 830 and a 630, and I love them both, but use neither for quilting. I adore my Juki TL2010Q for piecing, and I quilt on a longarm.

I don't have one machine to do it all. Is there such a thing? I hated having to switch the machine from sewing to quilting so now I have a Viking mega quilter for FMQing. It stays set up for quilting. Then I have a Singer 201 for piecing and a Singer 401 for fancy stitches. I do have newer machine, like a Brother and Singer Confidence but I prefer the vintage.

I love my Viking Topaz 30. Even has embrodery capabillity, which I still need practice on. Nice sturdy machine!

I'm devoted to my Bernina 1030 and to my Jem Platinum

I'm currently looking also..but will tell you what I won't buy again "VIKING" 6 years ago I wanted a new machine and had always wanted a Viking..so 2,500.00 later..I took it home (Viking Lilly 555) I hate it..use my old Singer and a 200.00 Brother from Wal-mart with less issues..so there's my imput..it's just a personal opinion and I have a friend who won't buy anything but Viking..in my quilt group the Janome seems to be the favorite !! Good Luck !!

Loving my new Bernina 440 QE. Just switched up from Bernette 92c and its much quicker and sturdier. Only wish there was a little more space for the quilt but it sews like a dream. Just quilted my first quilt on it and it was a pleasure.

I am searching as well. I have narrowed it down to 3, well maybe 4, that I want to check out next week. Since I have a very small work area, I do need one that can do as much as possible. So I will keep tabs on this post and see what folks come up with.

I'm really interested in this subject! I made my first quilt 2+ years ago. On the advice of my LQS I purchased a Brother 6000i - light and cheap and does the job. Mostly, I do charity quilts and stitch in the ditch to finish them. I've rented the long arm for other projects or had it done by someone else. I'm ready to upgrade! First, why is everyone so cagey about pricing? I do not have space or budget for a LA but I would definitely like to do free motion on my own machine - not practical on my little Brother - but I don't want to pay for features I won't use. I also don't want to skimp and then find out I could have paid a little more and gotten important features. What do you DSM users think are the most important features?

Love my Pfaffs.