have the bernina 730E artista ,love it but very high tec at first ,no classes on using it learned on my own . all three of your choices are good brands too , one thing i have heard from quilters here is make sure you live to to dealer,s in case you have any problems later on

Welcome to the Quilting Board...

Since I live in Maine, having a dealer within an hours drive was important to me so I purchased my first Janome (6600) in 2011. In taking a FMQing class this spring and playing on the 8900, I just had to have it. I love both machines but have not had the opportunity to sew on a Bernina but I have friends who love theirs.

Good luck on your purchase... it's exciting to have a new machine.

I absolutely LOVE Babylock. I have the Symphony and it's been the greatest machine I have ever owned. I used to only occasionally sew and had cheaper Singer machines that I bought in stores like Target. My husband told me 3 years ago to get a better machine and I chose the Babylock Symphony. I have not stopped sewing since. I recently bought a smaller "Sophia II" so I could have something lighter to take with me when needed and I love it too. It also has embroidery so I'm able to do 4" x 4" embroidery stuff. I swear by Babylock. Very easy to use.

I have had berninas for the past 15 years. All in all they are very reliable and well made. I have a babylock for an easy machine to take for classes, etc. it sews fine on a limited basis, but definitely not the quality of my Bernina. Again, it's all personal preference. Another key to a good machine is the dealer and their support. The Bernina dealer and his staff are a phone call away and always supportive and they also offer multiple classes to help you get comfortable with the machine. That is priceless when you are learning a new machine. Good luck and happy sewing!

Bernina is too expensive for me so bought a Viking and love it. It is several years old and no problems with it. Simple threading and drop in bobbin.
Also have a Baby Lock Jane which I find to be to complicated to thread and don't like the underneath bobbin, very out of date machine.
Also have a couple of cheap Brother machines that are great. My Brother embroidery machine is great except for just a small area of 4in for embroidery. Any larger and they get expensive.

I have the Janome 6600, it has everything on your list except the throat space is 9", not 10.
I tried the Janome 8900 when it came out and it was nice, but not enough nicer than my 6600 to justify the jump in price for me (even with a very good trade-in deal). It also doesn't have the ability to wind a bobbin separately, which is a feature I use a lot on my 6600 and really like.

You might want to test-drive a 6600 and see if that extra inch is a dealbreaker for you - it would save you some cash. They're pretty common machines, so it's easy to find accessories and info for it. I love mine to pieces - I've had it 3+ years now and not a moment of regret. I can switch to doing FMQ on this machine by just changing the foot and lowering the foot pressure - I don't have to touch tension or use a special bobbin case; it just works. I think that's pretty darn cool. (I don't know if the 8900 switches that easily or not - it very well might. And that's probably a good thing for you to try out when test-driving all these different machines!)

My 10-year-old niece has used my 6600 a few times and has already claimed it as her own after I die! I'm only 40, hopefully she has a very long wait! Maybe I'll buy one for her when she graduates or something, lol.

I'm not affiliated with Janome in any way - just in love with my 6600. And of course, this is all just MY opinion!!

It's fun shopping for a new machine. I'm a little bit jealous. :) Good luck, and happy hunting!

I have had the Janome 8900 for almost 2 years now and love it. It will do anything I ask of it, but does struggle with really thick layers. My recommendation (a friend suggested this to me when I was looking for a new machine) would be to take several 2" squaresof fabric, squares of your favorite batting and sit down at each machine and make a block with the 2" squares. Fold them in half over the batting and sew around the edges. Straight line or FMQ quilt the sandwich. This way you will find out how difficult or easy changing the feet will be. The dealer should be more than happy to help you with this process, otherwise, you don't want to deal with them. Just make sure you don't go when they are having a sale and are too busy.

Thank for your post. I too, love my "Brothers". I have several. The one I use at home the most is the Laura Ashley NX2000. I have put the machine through its paces, sewing, quilting, mending, free motion quilting, etc. It has more features than I will ever use. I wouldn't think twice about buying another Brother. I don't buy into brand hype either.

I have a Babylock Esante and a Brother Dreamweaver XE VM6200D. Love both. Which one is your favorite of all three and do any of these machines have features that you can't live without? What does your gut say? :)

My update for today. I visited my local Babylock dealer whom I have known for many years. I was very disappointed that she only had 3 Babylocks in her store. When I asked about the Aria, she said that she didn't carry it because of its pricepoint! That surprised me. She can order it of course, however, I already know that I could get the machine at another dealer for $400 less than she quoted.

I then went to a Bernina dealer who gave me a major introduction to Bernina. I have to say that I was VERY impressed, and I have to admit that I think the Bernina 740 is likely what I will be buying.

I haven't bought anything yet, but this is what I'm feeling now.