purplefiend

I have a Pfaff 1222E that is about 40 yrs old, has the built in walking foot(IDT), a new Pfaff quilter's expression 4.2 also has the IDT and a Pfaff Passport 2.0 w/IDT. I have a Bernina 1031, my first wonderful machine; still have it. Older Berninas and Singers(1960-70) are good machines, often better than a new machine.
I also sew with antique Singer treadles, all wonderful machines. DO NOT buy a new Singer, they aren't good machines(I used to sell them trust me on this). A good dealer is a must, nothing worse than a dealer that treats a customer badly. Take your own thread & fabrics, put the machine through its paces and see what you like and don't like. Don't let yourself be pressured to buy more machine than you want. But do buy as much machine as you can afford, you won't regret it later on. Many dealers have no interest financing.
Sharon in Texas

cjtinkle

If you mostly want it for quilting, pick up one of the workhorse vintage machines. I have 2 very nice computerized Bernina's (430 and 630) but I do most of my quilt piecing on my vintage Bernina 830, a Singer Featherweight, or sometimes my Singer 401. Those are all GREAT machines for less money, and will out last you.

purplefiend

I am piecing a quilt using my 1921 Singer 66 red eye treadle. Its relaxing and sews a beautiful stitch.

Cari-in-Oly

I'll start this by asking do you need the Cadillac or would you be happy with the Chevrolet? You can buy a comparably featured Brother machine for substantially less than you'll pay for a Babylock.

Cari

crafty pat

I use my old Singer 401A a lot but I bought a Brother computerized Project Runway five years ago to make some of the decorator stitches I could not make on my older one. I loved it and when my DD said she wanted to start to sew I gave it to her and went to Walmart and bought the newer one that came with all the quilting feet. I love it, it is such a great machine. My DH gave me the Brother embroidery machine and I love that one also.

nangars

I love all my baby locks and wouldn't trade them. I have my big ellisimo, decorators choice and quilters choice, also have a Janome 3160, that I take to class. They are all great machines. I use my ellisimo for just embroidery, since I have other machines, it is far to heavy to take to class, the only place that goes is to the shop for service. My son has to take it to the car and the shop takes the machine in. I just don't see how they can do it. I still wouldn't give it up.

jeanne49

I'm a BabyLock fan, have been for many years. Have a great dealer from whom my mother purchase all her machines from since the 60's. But to be honest, we never had a Bernina dealer close to us, would have had to drive nearly 40 miles to find one, and my Mom always said that it's best to purchase from a dealer who's close because when you have a problem you want to get there quick. The guy I purchase from is great and he and his wife have tried twice now to retire and both people who wanted to purchase the business nearly ran it into the ground. They started losing people who were customers for years like my Mom, so they came back permanently about 9 years ago. He also designs products for BabyLock. I just can't say enough about him or BabyLock.

imsewnso

IMHO, because of past experience I STRONGLY suggest you purchase the machine of your choice from a dealer you can freely talk to who has a repair person that is knowledgeable and available when you need them. You will have a relationship with your dealer that will last the lifetime of your machine. Pick wisely. ON the other hand, if you are not purchasing a new machine then you do want a repair person that knows all the ins and outs of the machine you are going to buy. Good Luck and let us know what you decide.

quiltingnd

My biggest advice is not only to test drive, ask opinions, read reviews...but also visit the store your buying from and speak to them there. I bought a small janome dc 2010 used when I first started quilting. It was/is such a workhorse that I was sure my next machine would be a Janome. (I hate change. Lol!)

Then on this board I heard about the pfaff qe 4.2. It had a lot of praise on the board, there was a nice YouTube video that really showed off the machine.

So, I went to my 2 lqs and looked over both the janome and the pfaff and asked questions about what came with, what kind of support I would get, and what happened if I got home and I didn't get along with it. (Which was a huge question for me because it was a lot of money to devote to a machine.) It ended up being that question that ended up the deciding factor. One shop, told me when I walked out, that was it. The other shop told me if I got home and didn't love my machine, I could bring it back for a trade in for the full value of the machine.

I ended up going with the machine that I felt was a great machine that came with even better support through the store. And I haven't regretted my decision. Btw, I got the pfaff. It wasn't the machine I thought I'd end up with but I LOVE it!

dhchjh

Give serious thought to purchasing a high quality used machine- especially if someone has upgraded for Christmas.
Have purchased upped end Bernina machines- 10 and over 20 years ago and both still working perfectly.