Hi...I am looking at buying a new sewing machine....I have about $1000 to spend but could go a tiny bit higher.
At the moment I have a Husqvarna Designer 1 which I will keep for back up and embroidery as it is an excellent sewing machine for dress making, but I don't find it the easiest to quilt on.... I would really like a machine for quilting with a good extension table as I would like to do much more quilting and free hand embroidery......Please tell me your suggestions.
I am based in the UK but I think I have access to most machines but sometimes they are called something different
Many thanks

I think if you get 20 responses, you'll get 20 different opinions LOL I have a Janome 6600 and I"m very happy with it. I think it's a lot of machine for the money. It has a wide throat area which is good for quilting, has automatic thread cutter, a pull-down needle threader. I do free motion quilting on smaller projects, usually not larger than a lap quilt, and I think the machine does a good job (well, assuming I'm doing a good job, too LOL) Good luck in your search

Brtoher PQ1500-S has a 9 inch throat, comes with an extension table and all the quilting feet you need for about $750. It's one minus is it is a straight stitch only machine. If you have the other machine for fancy stuff and don't mind changing machines once in awhile, it might be worth looking at.

Don't forget to check out Juki. I have a Brother CS6000ci. Not a bad little machine for my first. I have a Janome 9700 Emb/Sew machine. Nice machine, but way more machine than I need. Don't even use the embroidery much anymore. Next machine just for quilting will be a Juki with 9" throat. Oh yeah, you will probably want to look at the 9" throat models in any brand. The extra throat space will be appreciated. Good luck with your search.
ava

I have a Janome 6600 which is really nice! Love it!!!! Very well constructed machine. Janome also has a 1600 which is a heavier duty machine that is straight stitch only that a lot of women use to quilt with.

The 6500 janome does not have an arm. My mom didn't notice this until a few months after getting her machine.I sew on a bernia 440. Very nice machine.

I love my babylock espire, but it cost me 1800.My thoughts maybe the brother NX650Q, don't know how much they run, they have the new brother Laura ashley NX-800 i think it is, don't know if it replaced the NX-650Q, but they come with an extension table, they just don't have the automatic fabric pressure adjuster like the espire and QC1000. The espire sews like a dream, FMQ is not bad with practice. Just test drive a model, wouldn't go by personal experiences because everyone is different, you can always see bad and good ratings for the same machine, it really is personal preference

I love my Pfaff's! I agree you'll get a lot of opinions.

I'm a tad confused. Is there another reason for getting another machine? If your present machine sews well, it should be able to quilt well. Granted you may want a walking foot or such. Your feed dogs must drop that if you do embroidery on your present machine. You can always just buy, or have made for your machine, an extention table.

That way you could spend your savings on a special quilt show or camp or something.

ali