I have never regretted getting my Bernina 1230...have had it for 20+ years...was the 2nd to the top of the line at that time. It does everything I need it to do. Only thing that would be nice to have would be the stitch regulator for quilting.

I have the Viking SE machine, and I love it. However, the company sold to a Chinese company and because of that, I couldn't reccommend this brand any longer. This machine embroiders and sews like a dream. If I were you, I would look at Bernina, Babylock and sew on them to see if they meet YOUR needs.

Be prepared to lay down some serious money on hoops, supplies. I've had this machine for at least 6 years.

I would recommend that you stay away from anything made in China !! In everything that comes out of that country quality is NOT part of the equation.

Buy what you can afford. I wouldn't go into debt for a machine, just buy what you can afford and don't look back.

Mine doesn't either. My only complaint. But I've got a Singer 201 that I can haul out when I have something that's too thick for my fussy 7700. I can forgive it because it quilts so beautifully!

Yes, I have on a embroidery machine. The machine was nice but I did not use the embroidery function. I wished I had used the money towards a long arm. I think think for quilting I am very happy with the vintage sewing machines that have run me from $10-$200. My one big machine right now is the Janome 6500. I have owned it for 8 years and use it nearly daily. I have no desire to update it to the Horizon as I do not even use all the features on the 6500. What I need is a long arm. I do all my quilting right now on the Janome 6500 and it is a bear.

I'm not sure Viking sold out to a Chinese company but the machines are made in China. Most of the machines are made overseas now and possibly Bernina may not be one of those in China. That is something to ask about with any machine. Pfaff and Singer are also owned by the same company that owns Viking.

This is how I got my Viking Ruby this past fall. The previous owner no more than purchased it and then decided she wanted the latest version that had came out. There were only 7 hours on my machine when I bought it. I knew the previous owner so I knew it had been taken care of. The shop offers free embroidery classes each month so that I'm slowly learning how to use that feature which I'm excited about. This shop is go great that I haven't been able to take the past couple of classes so one day during the week when I'm off I'm going to the shop and the teacher will teach me how to do them all and I'll be all caught up. My machine qualified for financing and when it's paid down I want to get the editing software that will allow me to do so much more. Hopefully by the end of the year. I knew I needed more than the 4in hoop or I'd get bored and there was only one machine out newer than mine and I was fine with the few bells and whistles it had that mine didn't have. I figured by the time I learn how to do all there is with mine then I might be ready to advance to a bigger one if needed. With the endless hoop I may not need to even then. I know myself well enough to know that I need to either wait to get close to what I want or get what I want because if I settle for alot less I'll regret it and end up spending more money in the future getting what I wanted. Try different ones out; if they are used you can see how many hours are on the machine and ask about a warranty and classes so that you'll know how to use the features your machine has. I have so much more to learn but I know that I have a place to go to get the answers and help.

My machine isn't that old and on the box is says it's made in Sweden. So I'm not so sure about the China thing. I love my Ruby and I'm so happy that I got it and that I went with Viking.

Look for an online group for the various machines you're interested in. I bought a Janome 7700 after joining 2 different online groups (thru Yahoo) and asking numerous questions...