Originally Posted by SueJ
I have been saving money like crazy so that I can buy a better machine. What would your advice be?
Make a list of what's most important to your needs and the projects you do, and go from there.
For me, I wanted an extended bed so I had more room to shove the quilts through when finishing; capability and several alphabets to program text for my dedication patches; durability; brand recognition for resale value; and warranty.
I bought a Viking Husqvarna Sapphire 870 Quilt which has a 10" extended sewing surface (as compared to 6" on my old Kenmore). I love it. I didn't think I'd like the needle up/down, cut, start/stop, fix, features as much as I do, but I'm finding that I miss them when sewing on other machines (at my volunteer work).
I don't have the desire or time to get into embroidery, nor do I have the space to store all the supplies required for that, so I didn't look at any of the fancy embroidery machines.
Downside is that it has to be serviced by a dealer and I previously did all maintenance/service on my Kenmores myself. The feet are expensive, but they do the job nicely.
I nearly bought a used Bernina Artista 185 without the embroidery attachment, because of it's 9mm wide stitch and the ability to do monograms, but bought the Sapphire Quilt because of the warranty. I figured that if I needed any embroidery done, I'd pay a friend to do it for me. Less to learn!! ;-) Good Luck!!