I still am quilting on my Bernina 1530 with a 7" throat. I never did a king and with the built in table that I had, I never had a problem. As long as you have support for your quilt on your left side and behind your machine, you should be fine. But heck, if you can afford a new machine, treat yourself. Just be sure to "test drive" both machines to see which one is more comfortable and have the options you want.

Thanks everyone. I've done a lot of FMQ, but always on lap size or smaller quilts and my two Brother machines have done a great job for me with them. But, my last 3 quilts have been larger quilts and am finding that even though I've got good support on the sides and behind my machine, the throat space is just not enough for anything larger than double bed size without splitting my top and batting. The queen size I'm working on now is uncomfortably tight even though I split the batting. I was hoping that the PQ1500s or the Juki 2010q would work for what I want, since I have a limited budget and could afford to go with the PQ1500s (internet price) right now. Unfortunately I can't test drive the Juki 2010, the Brother Pq1500s or the Janome because there aren't dealers near me who stock those models so I really can't know for sure. The local Brother dealer will special order the PQ1500s, but there's just no way I can try any of these machines before buying. At any rate, the more I think about it and read what folks are saying, it sounds like maybe there isn't enough difference between those three machines in terms of actual working space and what I've got right now for it to be worth my while spending the $$.

I think for now I'm probably better off just continuing to quilt my larger quilts in smaller sections while saving my $$ for a machine with a 10 or 11" throat. :(

Whenever you decide to buy a new machine, make sure there is a dealer near you
who can service your machine when/if needed. There is nothing worse than buying
an expensive machine and then have to travel hundreds of miles to have it serviced.
It is also preferable to buy from your local dealer because for same reason.
The local dealer might not give you the same service if you buy the machine elsewhere.
I've read quite a few stories about that right on this board.

I didn't think about using an ironing board for support of the larger quilts. Thanks for the idea. Brilliant advice. I'm learning alot from ya'll. Thanks loads.

I prefer doing the quilts in pieces first them putting them together. It's so exciting.

I also have the Janome 6600 and FMQ even large quilts. Those few extra inches do make a big difference.

My Janome 7700 has 11" throat space. I love it

You can buy the Juki or the Brother on Amazon and send it back if you don't like it. I'm sure you will not :-) For such a simple machine (all mechanical with no computer) you really don't need a dealer. BTW, the lady who sold me the Juki told me that she had tried the Brother and in her opinion, the motor power of the Juki was far better. Anyway, in my opinion the real difference is the gain in the height. This is what allow you to move your quilt roll easily.

Also, the only service these mechanical machine need is a bit of oil and dust cleaning. If anything happens, any sewing reparator could do the job. But my Juki is 7 years old, have been used several hours a day and never went to the repair shop.

I agree with the Janome 8900.love mine! BTW you said your are "rolling" your quilt.....try "accordion-ing" (not a word), but you understand.....works for me.