do you want to sew stock designs or create your own designs. if you like to create, make sure the software does what you want. if you want to sew/embroider quilting designs in blocks, make sure to try it by hooping or clipping to the hoop a larger sized quilt and make sure that it will sew it out the way you want. say you want to embroider several [stars for instance] of the same color... does the machine cut between each star? if so, does it start the next star without the thread coming unthreaded? in embroidery mode, can you turn off the cutter if you want to leave long tails to bury? just some questions to consider