I have a large Bernina now, but I did a couple large (90x100-ish) on my smaller Bernina. For me, the trick was having a machine table with the cut-out for the machine so the quilt was flat with the machine bed.

Good luck on your search! It's fun to get a new machine. And I agree about making sure it has a "needle down" feature. And I also really like my knee-lift feature.

If you are looking for a piecing/quilting machine on a budget, then try a Juki 2010. I have one and love it. Several ladies in our quilt guild make award wining quilts with theirs. Love the thread cutter. On All Brands.com they sell for about $ 1000 and $2000 from a dealer.

It's not really necessary to spend $17,000 and up for a quilting machine. There are several reasonable "long arm" machines out there, the Bailey, you can get for under $5,000 and a lot of times, they have free shipping to the lower 48 states, there's also the Tin Lizzie, Sweet 16, etc., personally speaking, when I have the room and the money, I'll get the Bailey, they have a good reputation and customer service.

Oh my Goodness letawellman. I am so excited to see your post. I am also looking at the Top of the Line with frame from Tin Lizzie at Sewing Machine Plus but am only able to look at it online and that is pretty scary sometimes.

I already have a Grace King with a Bernina 820 on it. Wanting to get a real longarm. Is it hard to learn? Is Sewing Machine Plus good to work with. Any information you can give me would be sooooooooo helpful. Thank you