Welcome I agree just go to a dealer and try them out let them know you are just shoping for right now and when you decide on that perfect machine will talk price

Hi and wecome from the sunny state of Florida!!

Hello & welcome from Michigan! When there is something that I need, and I am always lmited on $$$$, I check craigs list, I have found some pretty awesome deals on there!

Born and New Orleans. Post Katrina living in Atlanta. Love Hotlanta but you never get New Orleans out of your blood!

I would pick the brain of quilt shop personnel - they are not necesssarily sales people. They have a diverse knowledge base and will be able to give you insight.

I have two Vikings (expensive) but I did not buy them primarily for quilting. It you want to machine quilt (not just piece) but would look at Brother and Bernia. Bernia has the patten on the Stitch Regulator which decreases the learning curve for free motion. Also hearing good things about the Brother.

Hi and welcome from Baton Rouge. Most of my quilts are made on a very basic mechanical Brother with no bells and whistles except a needle threader. Love it. Easy to use, no problems so far. Other machines recently used are vintage treadle and vintage Singer electric. Also good.

I too am on a limited budget. I splurged last christmas and bought a brother 1500. It has a larger throat and quilts nicely. I found mine online with free shipping.

If you're going to be making quilts larger than lap size I would recommend looking for a machine with a longer throat plate. In Berninas that would have the designation "PE". It really makes a difference when you try to get all that material pushed to the right of your needle. If you find a machine you like, try checking on e-Bay. I've seen some great bargains there.

Good Morning,

Two of my sons live on the west coast. I go to visit for a week or two several times a year. I went to Target and bought the cheapest Singer to leave there at their house. It does a lot for $50. And it is light weight. I bought it about 4 years ago and the girlfriends use it, etc. For my purposes it is fine. At home I have Janomes, Singers and a Bernina. The Bernina is my present to myself at retirement.
A lot of choices here but if you ever come across a Singer Featherweight ...BUY IT!
Good Luck in your hunt,

Quilter68 who is now 69

Hi, and welcome from Ville Platte, Louisiana. Jackie

Hello from Denham Springs, LA. It's a personal preference on a sewing machine. The bigger the throat area, the open length from the needle to the back part of the machine, the better. I have 4 sewing machines. A big Brother that I use a lot because it has the auto threader & the built in cutter. Just makes sewing quicker. A small Brother that travels with me. It does okay & has several built in decorative stitches. A small Janome with no frills & an old Singer Golden Touch & Sew in a cabinet. The easiest to quilt on is the old Singer. The level surface is wonderful. The best to piece on is the Big Brother with the auto threader & cutter. There are a lot of good machines out there for less than $200. Have fun!