Two things I think you should consider before brand. One choose a dealer that is close to you, not two hours away over the mountains...and two if you want to do machine quilting the size of the harp or distance from needle to motor, the place where you are going to have to bunch up all that quilting bulk is important. You are going to need at a minimum seven inches, nine is very good and eleven is heaven. I have had a few high end big brand machine fiasco's just because of this. It is not really all the bells and whistles it is the usability. Mostly, even when quilting you will be doing straight sewing. Having a dealer close is important because despite how well made the machine things will go wonky. The more complex the machine, the more computerized the more complex the wonky-ness. Also big machines are heavy...will you have someone to help you lug it out to the car for transport. Some can weigh as much as 40-50 lbs. Some machines brands are almost identical the difference in cost being the brand name. A difference in thousands sometimes. If you want an embroidery feature you will pay for it, is it worth the extra cost if you will only use it a couple of times a year for simple projects? Check first what dealers are most local to you and go do some cost and use comparisons. Lastly sewing machine dealers are like car dealers in that the manufacturer gives them a base price and then they can charge what they think the market will bear. So if you are comfortable with it dicker with them for discounts and extras. As I said I have had several high end machines, some purchases worked out better than others so all this info is hard won from success and failure, especially the long distance hauling of sewing machines back and forth to far away dealers. That sale price discount is swallowed up by time and gas dollars in the end. Good luck and I am here to tell you that being retired and having time to sew is wonderful and you will enjoy every minute of it all.

Thanks for the great advice! I will be taking my time making my decision. I am attending quilt shows and will check out the machines demonstrated there.

I bought a Janome 8900 a couple of years ago. It is a wonderful sewing and quilting machine. It has all the stitches and feet you could ever need. It has a 11" harp space which gives you lots of room to quilt. It has good lighting, needle up-down, and auto scissors. I don't know what you consider too expensive, but Janome machines are very reasonably priced machines in my opinion. I have quickly learned to FMQ on mine. It does a wonderful job. The machine is very big and heavy, however, and you would not want to take it to classes with you. I recently bought the table that is made for it, and I like it even better now. Good luck in finding the right machine for you!

I have this one also and love it. My DD has the newer version of it from last Christmas and loves it.

Welcome back to quilting. I love my Janome 8900. It is my third machine since I started and I definitely prefer it to my Viking Designer 1 (first machine) and my Pfaff (second machine). I haven't used all the options yet, but I definitely prefer it.

lovstoquilt, Joanns sells Viking machines now, and youshould be able to get classes for it there. Are they close enough to you?

My Brother 5130 is the less expensive Walmart machine. Got it fifteen years ago, transported it cross country four times by Greyhound, in the original box and packing material, (those baggage handlers are paid to move, not be careful) and it still works as well as the day I bought it. Never been in a shop, and as long as I keep it clean, it may never need to. (Unless I do something stupid) you just can't beat them for easy learning curve, durability, low maintenance, and phone support from the company. When I bought a fancy machine at a regular sewing machine dealer, I opted for another Brother machine. (Threads needle, cuts thread, monograms, and it even sews sideways.) it was about 8x as much, but I would buy the Brother Innovis NX650Q quilting club machine again too.

Do some experimenting with your 301 - the feed dogs will drop - turn the big screw to the left of the bobbin. (put it back when you are done...) There are QB members that swear by the FM on the 301. The Singer 15s have a bigger bobbin and have more space in the throat. I haven't tried using the 201 for FM yet. Some people like a treadle for free motion because if you can treadle well you can go slow when you want to. The newer machines still only do the same straight stitch as the 301 when you sew FM... For applique, the Singer 403 is my go to. For what little machine embroidery I need, I have a friend with a real nice embroidery machine. I just happily pay her... much cheaper than buying a machine I seldom use, she knows how to use it and does nice work.

I have the same machine and I love it. No matter what I put it through it works great.

If you have a Viking dealer close to you, you may be able to get classes from then, albeit not free (mine was $40/hour on a used serger I was gifted) but a lot cheaper than buying a new machine!