My parents are buying a new sewing machine for me for my college graduation. They gave me a price range of $500-1000. There are two dealers in town, one that sells Janome and the other sells Viking, which oddly enough are the two companies I've narrowed my search down to.

Does anyone know where the Janome DC3050 or the Viking Emerald 183 is made? Any advice or suggestions?

Welcome to the board and Congratulations on your college graduation. My dd#3 is graduating on Saturday from Pt Loma. I think a sewing machine is a great gift and I would have gotten them for each of my 3 daughters as a college graduation if I thought they would use them. I don't know much about either brand, I have a Bernina. Though I have heard, on here, much good about the Janome's.

Congratulations on finishing college! That's a great achievement. I would find out which of the two has the better trade in for upgrade later on. I think Janome and Viking are great machines as most all the newer ones are today. My girls didn't want a machine for any occasion and still don't. :?

Thanks! I have been off and on. More so when I lived in a house with a sewing machine. Although this last summer, for the first time, I completely pieced and quilted a quilt by hand - I was doing an internship far from home and didn't really have any friends in the area, so I had a lot of time.

Congratulations on your graduation and the wonderful choice of quilting as a hobby! I have an older Janome and am very happy with it. sorry, I can't answer your question. Can they be googled and researched that way? Can you call the shops and ask?
BTW, Hello and Welcome to the board from Missouri!

Welcome from SW Iowa. Do you have the option of trying out the machines. That might help with your decision.

I have tried them both out, I went in to the two different dealers yesterday.

I'm from central Iowa by the way littlehud!

which one comes with lessons and a better warranty?

First of all - congratulations!
Secondly, there are a few threads where people ask/write about what is important to them in a sewing machine. May be that can help you determine which machine to get. (In case your choices don't have matching features.) Other than that, I'd go with the feel of the machine and the feel of the supplier. Wherever you can get the better deal and the better support.

Congrats. As I understand it, Viking is the US division of Husqvuarna (that's probably spelled wrong) which is a Swedish company. I think the Vikings are made in the US but I could be wrong. Don't know about Janome. My MIL always had Husqvuarnas and she never had any problems with anything they made.

Congratulations, Grad! I have Janome machines. My dealer sells both Janome and Viking and has told me that you pay more for the Viking name; in other words, you get more machine for your money if you buy Janome. Whatever you choose, please consider purchasing from a dealer ... one who can and will give you lessons and support, such as machine maintenance, answer questions, etc. A good dealer has a good rapport with the manufacturer and that's important.

I don't remember the warranties right off for each machine. But both dealers in town give lessons on the machines. From experience - my father bought a machine online that we've had the worst problems with - I'll definitely be buying from a dealer.

I appreciate all of the advice. It's given me a lot to think about. Pretty sure I'm leaning towards the Janome - I'm pretty sure I don't need all the bells and whistles of the Viking.

And thanks to everyone for the congratulations!

:D :D :D

I heard Vikings have a tension problem which is why I dropped them out of my consideration list. I don't know about the model in question, but you probably would want to google "Vikings" and "tension" to see what turns up.

Good luck

I'd like to thank everyone for their congratulations and advice! Today I bought the Janome DC3050 and can't wait to start playing with it. Unfortunately that may have to wait until tomorrow after I get my apartment cleaned up to appease the fiance who thinks I'm crazy. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :P :P :P :thumbup:

That poor boy better get used to how things are soon going to change. You are not crazy - you are a quilter. Rule #1 is: Quilting rules. Rule #2: All roads lead to quilting.

lol. (Easy for me to say: Married 32.5 years and DH is my quilting advisor)

Yay! I've had some time to play with my sewing machine. It's definitely going to provide for many a good time! :lol:

Me too, hoping you have many many great hours of quilting on your new machine!!!