I have a featherweight and a Bernina QE with a lot of extras. I hardly ever use the extras... Most of what I use is Zig zag and straight stitch.

I have the SQ9000 and it came with everything you need for quilting. It has the quilting foot and the darning foot for FM. It is a Project Runway Brother from Wal Mart and was $169.00. Worth every penny and I sew clothes and all types of craft things on it as well as quilting.

You need to think very carefully on what kind of sewing you want to do. I have a Brother s1500 and Singer confidence Quilter. the singer does the fancy stitches if I want and is very nice for peicing. The Borther is straight stitch only . It sews like a dream and hss the 9" throat. The larger throat is REALLY great for FMQ. IT would be worth it if you think you want to do your own FMQ ( now or in the future). Ask your self Do I want to embrodery? FMQ? fancy stitches! want a surger?. Maybe you should wait and think about it some more until after you have done more quilting.

I had a Kenmore from 1980 which was a great machine. I so wish I still had it. However, in the mid-90s when I got into quilting, I thought I HAD to have a Bernina! Bought one that was near TOL (1530) at the time and was amazed that it didn't result in perfect quilts! :-) It was a great machine and easy to use, but in looking at my quilts you couldn't tell any difference, lol. Sadly, when DH lost his job a few years ago, I had to sell it. Now I sew on a $40 Bernina (1010) that I got off of Ebay as a buy-it-now. I had to buy a foot pedal and bobbin case for it, but I've done my best work with it...the big difference is experience. Good luck with your decision! Sewing machine shopping is SO much fun!

Make sure whatever you decide to buy that you can get it service.

I would stick with your Kenmore for now and spend money on material and supplies to learn more about sewing, then you will know what your looking for in a machine, and in a year or two they will have more and be cheaper most likely. I have more machines than I have time to use, but it is like any collector, it is such fun to get another, different machine. I have the Brother SQ9000 I got on Amazon for $139. rebuilt and it sews great, needle up/down and fancy stitches. But learn to sew, what you really want to sew when you learn more and then you will have a better idea of what you really want. Embroidery is great, but thread, stablizer all costs and if money is a factor, learn to thread paint/free motion embroidery and see if you like that.

There is the Brother PC 210, has a lesser number of decorative stitches and less dollars too.
Supposedly the exact, same machine as the PC 420, just fewer stitches...

Go for the PC420. It has a thread cutter. That is worth the extra money to me. I once bought an entry level Brother and was very unhappy with it. I would go for the best machine you can get for the money you have to spend. Also, the PC420 was the top pick on this site. Perhaps you should read.

http://www.sewmyplace.com/brother-pc...achine-review/

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply. After looking at everything I could about the machines I finally decided to get the PC420. I am so excited....it's supposed to arrive tomorrow! I also have some new material coming tomorrow that I ordered from Joann's. There was a pattern on Joann's website called Zesty Tote (If I'm remembering correctly) and I want to try and make that. Unfortunately they didn't have that material online and I didn't see it in the store either but I already have lots of material to choose from.

Also, I know the throat isn't as large as it should be but I want to try to make a smallish quilt to hang on my wall. Are there any good books, patterns or websites for beginner's that you would recommend. I will definitely be trying to gather as much information as possible from this site and am very grateful for any knowledge or wisdom you can give.

One thing very important feature that the 420 has is the ability to change the presser foot pressure. I would not buy a machine without this feature. The cheapie machines do not have it, only those which have a frame. I think the 420 will outlast the cheaper machine. Of course, most vintage have this adjustment feature, and many can be bought for $20-$100.