Originally Posted by
ptquilts
I agree with Foggy, ask around. There are a lot of people with a machine tucked away that they don't use. Even put a request on your local FB page?
I've made hundreds of quilts, and all on secondhand machines.
Another vote for asking around to see if someone will lend/give you their machine. It is hard to know what features will be important to you until you spend some time actually sewing.
And if you get frustrated with your borrowed/gifted machine, remind yourself that that is the point. You are conducting an experiment to see what features will be useful to you. Write down what frustrates you and come back to this forum. We can probably help you through your issue or at least recommend a machine that you might eventually buy that will resolve the issue.