Sewing machines are like cars. We all have our favs and wouldn't switch for anything. I am a Janome girl having got burned by Brother when I was starting out I have a hard time ever thinking it would be a good machine. That being said I am sure it has happen to someone on this board with a Janome or a Bernina or any of the other brands; no one brand will be without its "lemons". I think the deciding factor for me would be noise, throat, price and is the service guy/gal knowledgeable and friendly. Good luck with shopping and post a picture of your new house member when she comes home.

Dolphyngyrl, what do you mean by 9 mm machines tend to eat the fabric? I've never heard of this.

I have the Crescendo, and like Scraplady, chose that brand because I could get very good service locally. Almost every day I find myself saying how much I love this machine. That laser light is the bomb. It also FMQ very easily - perfect tension, plenty of space. Great lighting, solid and quiet, perfect needle threader - and that walking foot is fantastic. I also have the fancy foot controller that can be programmed and I love that too. There is one tiny thing that does annoy me, and that is the needle will become unthreaded if you aren't right on the edge of your fabric. The cut end is just a tad short I think.

Sorry I am of no help, I think they are all wonderful machines.

I bought the Janome 8900 in August and I am very satisfied with it. It is a perfect machine for quilting and piecing. I have no problems with it eating fabric. I think you would be satisfied with any of those three machines. They are all great. Go with the one where you get the best service and sew on each one. One of them should "feel" right to you and have the features you like best. That's the one to buy. As you can see from the comments already, different folks like different machines. I have several sewing machines of different brands and love them all. Have fun shopping.

Sorry, none of the above. Never tried any of them. Love my two Berninas!!

I am partial to the Janome - it is a real workhorse for me.

Thank you all for responding. These comments help.

I absolutely love my baby lock crescendo. I upgraded from a symphony about a month ago and so happy I did. It's super easy to use and I am able to just sit down and sew. I love the laser light and pen. I have not used the digital dual feed foot much but it's a huge improvement over the walking foot on my symphony. I looked at brother machines before I bought my first baby lock and I did like them but I had a better experience at my baby lock dealer.

Janome, any model. I own 5 Janome machines presently, purchased my first one back in the 1980's sight unseen fter seeing it on TV. They are real workhorses, attachments aren't too expensive and rarely need repair.