sumcoop

Well, I am a Brother junkie I guess I have 4 machines and serger from Baby Lock. I bought 2 from Walmart and 2 from a machine shop. The one you are speaking of sews fine and a great starter...I am spoiled by my other 3 as they have more features. The auto threader from on the two at Walmart have stopped working but other than that...they are great. The thing I liked about Walmart is that I could try it and return it if I didn't like it...here our sew shop doesn't do that...
The brothers are easy to use and to learn on. I tried 7 machines before I settled on the brother of which you speak from walmart. Good luck...go try many out everywhere. My sew store told me not to buy Walmart either but I think it is because she wanted to make the sale and it is true they could repair it rather than sending it off or taking mine to them for a fee...but I have had no other trouble from my four...the one I bought from them used had to be revamped right after I got it...so...
Good luck.

jjuhl

You might take a look at the Kenmore machines. They are reasonably priced with a lot of features. I was told they are manufactured by Janome (they look pretty much the same anyway). I have had mine for about 5 years and never had a problem with it.

ohstr

Finding a machine you like is a tough thing - it is hard to determine its capabilities in a short test drive. I have been using a 1967 Kenmore - and a vintage Singer 301A for the majority of the piecing that I do. I have also used these machines to do machine quilting as well, and I am very pleased with the outcome. Perhaps you could check Craigslist, antique shops or sewing machine shops that have trade in models available. I have a new computerized machine that I rarely use because I prefer the vintage ones.
Good luck in your search.

Debbie B

I bought a Brother XR9000 online for around $250 a little over a year ago when I decided that I was going to learn how to machine quilt. It has the drop feed and that's what I was looking for to learn FMQ. Plus, it has a lot of decorative stitches and has letters & numbers. Although, the letters & numbers are quite small & you can't change the size. I love my machine! It has operated perfectly and I sew with it 4 - 5 days a week. The one flaw is the small throat space...5 1/2 to 6 inches. It makes it hard for a large quilt. Recently I bought an older Singer machine (a 15-125 that's green) off Craiglist that has the drop feed with a 7" throat space. I had it cleaned & serviced, but I still go back to the Brother. It's what I learned on & maybe it's my comfort zone. I guess I should push myself to learn the Singer, but I feel out of control with it. It's powerful and I think the computerized Brother has spoiled me.

mrsddh97

When I started out, I was in the same boat as you, limited funds. I brought a Brother from Walmart for about $149 that was 4 years ago it is still going strong I actually use it as my traveling machine for classes, workshops, and guild functions. I was and am very satisfied with it. It could do everything I needed, satin stitch, blanket, 1/4 inch, etc. When I was looking to get another machine, upgrade (still limited funds but a little more to play with), I tried the Singer, and Viking machines and could not get comfortable and was not satisfied, kept comparing them to my little ol' simple Brother. Bernina and Janome were still out of my price range. So my friend said if you like the Brother so much why don't you look into getting another one of those. I ended up buying another Brother with quilting and embroidery features for about $500 thru Amazon and have been more than pleased with my decision and that was approx. 1 1/2 lyears ago.

Up4BigChal

I have that Walmart machine and I've made several quilts on it. I have other machines as well. But it sews just fine. Has many decorative stitches. As long as your not sewing heavy fabrics. I believe there are many Sewing Machine shops out there that would not want you to buy a machine from Walmart. But Brother carries he warranties on them

Blackberry

I have the Brother CSi6000 and it came with a walking foot and a FMQ foot. I quilt on it all the time and I find it to be very easy to use and learn. I got mine at Amazon.com for $147 a few months ago. I purchased it because I am also on limited funds as my main source of income is SS.

jolo

I used a Brother that cost less than 100 dollars from WM and it was still sewing beautifully when I gave it to one of my GDs to learn on. STill is by the way and that was at least 5 years ago that I gave it to her.

sewgray

Okay I didn't read all the post so if I'm repeating something someone else said please forgive me.

My thought is that obviously you already have a machine and any machine you could get at Walmart, (or Target, JoAnn's, Hancocks, etc.) for $200 or less probably will not do more than the machine you already have.

I would save for one with a bigger area to the right of the needle. I have my eye on a PQ1500s by Brother.http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp01065.html

Debbie B

I just went to the link you posted. What a nice machine. I think I'll start saving my money. 9" throat space would be heaven. Wonder if you could use this on a frame for mid-arm quilting?