Considering a purchase, but don't know what to buy. Mainly for piecing. Tell me your likes & dislikes about what you have & what you recommend or don't. I can't spend $1000 or more on a machine by the way.

See if you can find a Janome 6500P used. They are work horses and do everything I have ever needed except embroidery. The only drawback ever is that they do not have free arm.

I love my Brother machines. They have several nice machines for much less than $1,000. l also have had Janome machines that were very good also.

I'm looking to upgrade, too. My biggest concern is large throat space. It seems to be Brother offers the largest throat for the least money.

so many thing to consider when buying machine

I have a Babylock Espire (now Symphonie) but she is a little past your limits. LOVE that machine though. The only thing missing is the built-in walking foot but....there is a stand-alone foot for attachment.

Brother in general is very user-friendly.

I'd suggest you get a list of must haves and go from there.

I have a Singer industrial machine. Sews forward, backward and zigzag. It has a separate motor from the machine. I have had it since 1983 and have never had any problem with it. It's fast and reliable. I also have a Viking quilting and a Brother that I take "traveling". All are very basic.

I have had just about every machine there is over the years but my most favorite is the pfaff" If you ever try and find a used one you will know just how much they are loved lols. The built in dual feed system is the greatest.

Everyone has their own preference when it comes to machines. Mine happens to be Janomes. But go to you local shop that sells machines and try them out. Make a list of what you would like the machine to do. Question everything. Also some shops have slightly used or reconditioned machines for a good price. I got one of my machines at half price because they used it as a demo. Good LUck

I have a Janome 6600 and LOVE it. Got it last March and it really is a wonderful wonderful machine. Cannot recommend it any higher. Not only is it a workhorse, but the construction of it can't be beat. Steel construction with ball bearings. Check out the construction of any machine that you are going to put that much money into. They are not all equal. Took dh with me, I checked out the features and he checked out the machine construction. LOL

Good luck its a very hard and personal decision.