I have the Janome 6500 and it it an excellent machine and it has been problem free for 6 yrs now. I looked at the Janome horizon and if I had the money that is the one I would buy but then I am not looking for an embroidery machine. It does have a lot of fancy stitches though.

I have the Janome 6600 and the Janome MC350E for embroidery. Got both for under 2k. I personally prefer a separate embroidery machine as if I have a large embroidery to do I can still continue piecing etc. And if one machine breaks down I can still use the other while getting repairs.

I, too, have a less expensive Janome and I love it,too! Actually, it does everything I need or want, but if I was to upgrade, I would definitely go with another Janome...no question about it.

I have the Janome 6600P and love it. I bought it from an employee of a sewing store who had it 6 mo. She wanted to upgrade to one with the embroidery. ( I have a Tajima embroidery machine) I bought it for a lot less then half. She gets a big discount from work and so it wasn't worth it to her to trade it in. The only thing is that once in a great while the thread does job out of the path, it is rare but does happen. Look around deals are out there.

Like Labfairy, a Pfaff Expression is very quilter/piecer friendly. A feature that I depend on is the needle down button, it wasn't on my list but it is my fave.

Consumer report says brother. I had one years age and it worked well. Best of all, it wasn't astronomically priced. You8 need to figure out what you personally need from a machine as a quilter. And just because they are expensive it doesn't mean they will jump through hoops for you. I have also had real good luck with Kenmore's.

I bought a Baby Lock Ellure Plus embroidery machine this past August for my birthday and really like all the features and the many different stitches on it. Haven' gotten into the embroidery part of it very much yet but hope to do that now that the holidays are about over.

Just got an Brother Innovis 2000 Laura Ashley in November. Really, really love it. Has great decorative stitches, and did a great job of piecing and free motion quilting. Options seem to be unlimited.

I love mine too!!

I have to agree with you. I have two Viking Husqvarna machines that have never had the first problem through years of sewing. One is about 20 years old, a Viking 940 electronic model, and the other is a Viking Rose with embroidery. The quality and workmanship is incredible, and both have been a joy to use. Two years ago I got a Janome Threadbanger 30 which is computerized. It is a real work horse but does not have embroidery. It has already had one repair and just 'rides rough' in spite of cleaning it. When going from the Janome back to my Viking Husqvarna, I am impressed once again with how well both sew although the Janome is much newer. I suppose each person will have a different recommendation depending on their experience. Really take your time to 'test drive' the various machines!