I'll just preface this with the fact that I sew on a Janome 8900 QCP and love it. I hear lots of people rave about Bernina's as the best machine out there, and in their opinion it is. My MIL has a Bernina and it has given her lots of trouble; so much she is thinking about switching to another brand. I think Tartan is right. You have to find the best machine for you. Maybe it's a Bernina, maybe it's not...