I like Brothers machines, used to think Singer was the only one to use. Brothers is operator friendly, easy to learn to use. they have very good online tutorials also . I have 2 Brothers embroidery machines and one regular sewing machine.
have a Singer 500 that I quilt on , but would love a LAQ machine. Go to the dealer and try one. Good luck have fun with what every one you buy.

I bought a Brother CS6000i on Amazon that is computerized and has multiple decorative stitches. It had problems at 60 days so I was totally upset. I sent it in for repairs - since you can not repair it yourself - and it has worked great since then and I have come to love it. I only paid $159+ or something like that for it although it is listed at double that. While I was waiting for my Brother to be repaired I ordered and received a Janome HJD3000 machine which I paid around $350 for and again it was listed at a higher price. I loved it. It is a heavier machine so it handles heavier material better than the smaller brother. It is an electronic machine and not computerized. However I did have some severe problems with the stitches and had to spend quite a lot of time working on it to get it working right again. I got this one on Amazon as well and when it needed repairs Janome customer service told me to go to the place that I had purchased it for repairs and when I attempted to contact that company on Amazon they did not respond so I eventually fixed it myself. Prior to that I had a Kenmore for 25 years and loved it followed by another Kenmore for 27 years and loved it but when I looked at Kenmore and found out that Janome made them I went with the Janome and it works very much like the Kenmores I had. So I guess I would say either of those machines when working are a great machine.

I would look into the Janomes. Everyone that has one seems to love them. Also, they are reasonably priced compared to the Bernina's. I believe that Janome is a better machine than the Brother.

My personal preference is for a vintage machine with none of the fancy stuff on it. They are wonderful for piecing and I've done quilting of up to twin size on my Featherweight which is a smaller model but still has a larger throat than many of even the most basic modern machines.
At some point I do want to get a machine with some additional features, but until I decide exactly what features are most important to me I'm not going to spend $ I could more easily use for more fabric!
Good luck on your search.

Teresa, I have several machines, most Janome brand, including a high-end one. It's the only machine I have in my upstairs sewing room, mainly used for piecing and machine embroidery. I wanted a more basic machine for my downstairs room, a machine primarily for quilting. I did a lot of research before I bought a Janome MC6300; it is computerized, has all the features I need, but is still quite basic, with a 9'1/2" space to the right of the needle. You might want look at all its specifications and features at the Janome site. Last time I looked, authorized Janome dealers were asking $1200. for this machine. Suggest you buy whatever from an authorized dealer (on-line or not) to make sure the warranty is valid.

Since you don't have a lot of experience with machines I would suggest you buy from a store that will offer free Machine Mastery classes and have a service tech available on site. You said you don't have stores nearby, but this is a big purchase and you need to find a dealer who can help you. I've known lots of people over the years who had sewing machines they never used simply because they had no mastery classes or people to help them. Look for a used machine with a warrantee from a dealership. Buying online or from a box store means you will have no help and perhaps no recourse if there are problems. A " previously loved" machine of good quality will last you a long time and do whatever you need it to do. Don't shortchange yourself....you may grow in your interests and want to have the ability to learn machine embroidery, or appliqué, or felting, etc. some day. A used higher end machine will give you the capability to explore and grow.

For several years, I have "kept an eye out" for a good used machine and there's never any to be had. Admittedly, there's only one dealer in our area and I'm not in a position to travel long distances in heavy traffic to any of the others in the greater metro area.

The Jenome gem machine is light weight(good to take to sewing classes) It has served me well. If you want to machine quilt, do the individual blocks before you sew them all together. Leah Day has an excellent tutorial on u tube on how to do that and it is easy. Google. Leah Day free motion quilt along project on u tube. She has a series of many quilting tutorials and they are all free.

There are many good machines out there and I would suggest, if possible, to go to a dealer to try out different machines to get the right "fit". If you are going to machine quilt, look for a machine with a larger throat, I have a Janome 4000, which I love, but I also have a Brother that was free, and it is my "go-to" machine when my Janome is in for a regular check-up. I don't know that you need much more than a straight and zig-zag stitch on the machine, but a needle up/down is a great feature, at least to me. There are also machines that have a quilting stitch, but I have never used one. It all comes down to personal preference plus follow-up service. I know this is long, but there is no one right machine for everyone. By the way, welcome to quilting, I'm sure you will find it a very rewarding hobby, or in my case - obsession.

I would go to a dealer and try out a few machines. Even if you end up ordering online at least that way you'll have a better idea of what you want. Not saying that ordering online is a bad thing but dealer support is great when something goes wrong and in the beginning to show you how everything on your machine works. Also sometimes dealers throw in some extras when you buy from them. With the last machine I bought I got six spools of thread and a free yard of fabric each month for the next year.