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I have a Brother SQ9000. Only $199 at Walmart. I am very happy with it. I do not do embroidery, but it is wonderful for just about everything else. Has all kinds of feet, and about 80 decorative stitches.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Violet_angel (Post 6037052)

On the other hand, Janome appears to be highly recommended as well. I cannot 'test drive' one unless I drive an hour an a half away, but the 6500 seems like a good bang for the buck (and that dealership is supposed to be good as well). In that case, I would just add a separate embroidery machine down the road. Anyone have any input or experiences they'd like to share? I'd appreciate it!

I come originally from a Pfaff and wanted to change so I thought I would go to Bernina. the Bernina dealer was also a dealer for Janome. She introduced me and now I own several Janomes. I bought a embroidery machine that is now my oldest DD's machine and DH gave me a 6500 about 9 years ago. The 6500 is a great machine. I still use it and have nearly daily for all those yrs. I have also done a lot of actualy quilting on it from doll quilts to King size quilts. I think it is a great machine. I also own a Janome Gem silver (3/4 size travel machine and a mechanical Janome I bought for my second daughter). I have 6 friends that bought either the Janome Gem silver or 6500 based on my experience with the Janomes and all of them are really happy with their machines.

I was kindof in the same boat as you... I looked for a few months for a machine.. test drove a lot.. I was so close to getting a bernina... but after pricing all the extra feet and things, it was way to expensive in my opinion. So I went with a brother machine. Brother is a great brand and get a lot more bang for buck in my opinion! Good luck!

If you are leaning towards a Janome, look into upgrading to a 6600. It has the accufeed system (walking foot) built in, more bells and whistles, and not that much more money. If you go to a dealer, ask about used machines...often times a good used machine is trade-in on a new machine. I found a very good used 6600 for $1000.