Terri D.

I've found that simple is best. First, I recommend that you hang onto your current Bernina. I worked at a quilt shop for three years and have talked to enough quilters who sold or traded their older Bernina for one of the new ones and have regretted it.

I don't know much about the current 800 series Berninas, but I would probably find them to be too much for me. Rather, I'd go with a solid, well-built, basic machine, one without a ton of bells and whistles. Just incorporate the one or two features that you think you'd really like to add and be done. Sometimes less is more.

Something that may help would be to check the most recent Consumer Reports issue that reviews sewing machines and go over that with a fine tooth comb. Your local library should have this. It may help you decide which features you think you want to investigate further and which ones you don't.

Buying a sewing machine is like buying a car. Take your time and don't let the salesperson talk you into things you can't ever see yourself using.

And just to confuse you even further with an opposing point of view about the BSR, I thought it was much ado about nothing. You still have to practice to get good at your free motion quilting skills, with or without it. I test drove it for more than an hour at the dealer, and just could not see the point, although I'm aware that others on this site have raved about it.