all i have is a sears kenmore sewing machine , it has what i need, a reverse, drop the feed dogs, decrotive stitching, auto needle threader, and works !!! i have done king size to lap tops on mine , i may have to work harder at getting it done but i did it, i would love to have a machine with a bigger throat space but it is not in my budget and i can work around it for now

My friend just bought a Janome 8050 and she loves it.
Her singer broke down ans she was undecided of what to buy. I told her a lot of you quilters like Janome products.
Do any of you have this model? How do you like/rate it?

I just bought a Janome 8050 at an excellent price of $200.00 [refurbished w/full warranty] and I am delighted with it. The first work I have done with it are heavy fabrics and it has done a great job on both! This machine has been a pleasant surprise as I wasn't really expecting it to do well on heavier fabrics...denim, etc.

I just have a pretty plain, middle of the line kenmore. It doesn't have a lot of fancy stitches, but it does have a few. For quilting though, I use straight stitch for piecing, buttonhole and zig-zag for applique (and piecing batting) and that is it.

The real deal-maker for me on a quilting machine is the ability to drop the feed dogs and FMQ. I have a smaller machine I use for classes and such, also a kenmore, 3/4 size, much less variety of stitches, but the real reason it would never hack it as my day-to-day machine is that it doesn't have feed dogs that drop.

I also like for a machine to be able to handle denim and many layers - and mine does.

My dream machine would have a larger throat space, and the ability to stop with the needle down automatically, plus slow/fast speed settings. I believe those last two were features on the Kenmore next price bracket up from mine, but I just didn't have the money.

More fancy stitches might be fun, but I wouldn't use them often enough to justify the price.

I agree that you only really need one good machine. I started about 4 years ago with a $200 dollar singer that was made for home ec classes in schools. It is really still my favorite machine, although now I have a small Babylock embroidery machine and a big Janome embroidery quilting machine, as well as Babylock serger. That singer though - what a workhorse. It is TOTALLY gear driven, no electronics at all, and it sews like a dream. If I had decided to have a face lift instead of buying new machines it would STILL be the only machine I have. But the face lift - way, way more expensive that the big Janome and the Baby lock serger!!! Go with a machine that you are comfortable with. A larger throat makes the actual quilting process easier, but a lot of folks on this board do quilt bed size quilts on 7 or 8 inch throat machines (God love them!!)

A "pre-loved" Viking SE should quilt at least a queen sized quilt. They were top of the line about 4 years ago have been supplanted by the jewel line (Diamond, Ruby). They are really good machines which will let you piece, quilt and embroider and the price is down to $2,000-$3,000.
The biggest thing to look for is a reputable dealer. You can go in and test drive all machines of any dealers within a reasonable distance from where you are. They should give you a couple of free classes after you buy and they should have a repair person on premises and hopefully be around for years for service.

I have an Bernina 1530. It has lots of stitches etc. bought it in 1997 before I took up quilting. Used it for clothes. I am going to pick up another machine in a couple of months that has a larger throat opening so I can do some quilting on it as I do not sew by hand. I also need a lighter weight one to take to the various classes I sign up for. Bernina's are heavy but they can fall of a table and land on a concret floor and still run perfectly.

I have a Pfaff Varimatic 6085 and it does everything I ask of it. I've purchased special feet for it and admit that doing a large quilt is not the easiest, but until I win the lottery it serves me quite well.

I piece on a Singer 301 that is older than I am. It just does a straight stitch. I have a New Joy frame, it may be used on it or one the others I have..... I do have several. Beth in Co

Some of the newer machines have 11" throats - I bought a 9 throat machine about 5 years ago and it is really worthwhile. It is also a straight stitcher only, with a single hole needle plate. That makes a lot of difference to the quality of the stitching for quilts.