MadQuilter

I got a new Pfaff a while ago (because I always got Pfaffs and this one had some "cool" features) and when I got her home she turned out to be a picky, persnickety, nasty piece of work. It was beyond "quirky" and I was extremely frustrated. Boy did I regret that purchase - although the price was OK, it was still high. My husband finally begged me to get a different machine because he was afraid that I would toss it out the window. (Yes, I was getting THAT upset).

Less than a year after my original purchase I went online and did a lot of research. My list of "must haves" and "would be nice to have" was well developed. Fortunately, we have quite a few dealers in the area so I went to test drive all sorts of machines. In the end, I decided on a Baby Lock who incidentally did not have my top "must have" feature (built-in walking foot). BUT she had so many other wonderful features I LOVE HER. In my classes everyone else had trouble with tension and thread types. I just sewed and quilted like a happy camper.

I think you are doing yourself and your craft a disservice by wrangling with your current beast. There are some very nice and reliable machines on the market that don't necessarily break the bank. You owe it to yourself to go find what works for you. Dealers who tell you that "it" is your fault, and dealers who don't give you ample access to test drive are not where I would shop. Good luck finding your happy match. Make an adventure out of it - not a chore.

annesthreads

Well, I've had lots of helpful replies - thankyou - and have been thinking things through. The latest problem with my current machine - thread sticking in the tension discs - is obviously not my fault, and is one of several problems that keep recurring. I think it's time to admit defeat and go for a new machine, definitely from a different dealer. I don't actually think I'm as incompetent as he implies - I do pretty well on other machines - and on mine when it deigns to behave itself. I've emailed a couple of dealers that are some distance away but which I know have a good reputation, and one of them has left a very positive-sounding phone message, so I'm going to talk to them tomorrow. I'm probably looking at the Janome 6600 or 7700 - the latter has always been out of my price range, but at the moment some dealers have a good offer on it, so it's probably a "now or never" decision, as I understand that Janome's prices will be going up soon. The frustrating thing is that neither dealer currently has a 6600 in stock, and I really want to try both in the same session. I may also go and see the local Pfaff/Husqvarna dealer, just to see what they have to offer. The priority is a machine that's reliable for free motion quilting, and will take a range of threads, unlike my picky current machine: my vintage ones can handle the piecing.
I'm going to post another thread for comments on that.
Thanks again to all who responded: I really needed the encouragement and hugs when I started this thread.