skaduzy

I have this one too and love everything it does. I don't think you can go wrong with any Janome

romanojg

I'm with you; I had a Ruby for a yr. Loved it and traded all the way up the following yr to the Viking Diamond Deluxe. I disagree with another post on here, it doesn't have to be hard. The lastest Vikings (Ruby, Ruby Deluxe, Diamond and Diamond Deluxe) make it so much easier and has a lot of self adjusting features. I love the large hoops they can use and how easy it is. I've only used one other embroidery machine; a Brother. Even though I thought it was a good machine and love the snowman positioning there are features that Viking has that I couldn't give up. Like thread positioning, it automatically adjust so your embroiery looks the same on the top as the bottom. I push a button and my machine sets itself up to do FMQ with out any other adjustments. These machines don't have to be taken apart when you sew because you just park the embroidery arm and you have this large surface to sew on. I did keep my Kenmore so that if I'm multi tasking and have the embroidery machine going I don't have to wait to sew. The Topaz machines are also good. You can do a comparison on them at Vikings website.

romanojg

I totally agree, I never use the 4x4 and in the past 2 yrs have only used the 5x7 a couple of times. My Diamond Deluxe has one of if not the largest hoops out there and I love it.

cpcarolyn

I have a Bernina 730. Love the machine.

Donna in Mo

I have a Pfaff 2144 and love it. It is a joy to sew on or embroidery with. Glad you posted about your Pfaff!

bigredharley

Thanks NYGal, I checked out your site and spent $300 LOL. I was starting to strongly consider a Brother embroidery machine to supplement my Crescendo Baby Lock Quilting Machine. Brother is the parent company of Baby Lock, and what sold me on the Brother is the ability to download Disney designs. Now I'll be putting the little mermaid on everything for my granddaughter. I've been trying to figure out what to do for a quilt for her, and now my problem is solved! WOO HOO!

Karenowc

I have both an Ellisimo (love, love) and a Janome 6600P (also, love love).

I had a Bernina 180e which was my first expensive machine that did embroidery. After 10 years I needed an upgrade because machines had advanced so much. I looked at the Bernina 830 and the Ellisimo. I felt that the E seemed easier to use and had the camera feature which is wonderful. I use that all the time. I use the Janome for piecing and quilting on small projects. Since it is in a different location, I do use the E to piece when I'm at home and it does a wonderful job and is fun to use. I especially like the foot up button that you can use. I use it all the time when I am doing buttonhole stitching on appliqué.

quilting in my60s

I'm with you about sewing/embroidery machines. I also have Viking Sapphire and bought the Brother "cheapy" sewing/embroidery machine at Walmart and for the small projects I embroidery the 4X4 area works for me. I wasn't sure if I would do much embroidery and I don't do as much as I thought I would so saved myself big bucks!

sarahspins

I agree, I just bought a PE500 (Brother's "cheap" embroidery only machine) and I'm quite happy with it, and to be honest for a cheap machine I am blown away with it (I paid $219 for mine as an Amazon Lightning Deal). The stitch quality is great and it's easy to use compared to my experience with my prior Pfaff and my mom's current Pfaff. The ONLY downside, which isn't really a downside to me, is the 4x4 embroidery field since a majority of machines out there now have bigger hoops available, but my prior machine was a Pfaff 7570 and it's embroidery field was basically the same size (it was something like 4.5x4.5), and I didn't really find it that limiting before, so I don't really expect to be now, my primary purpose for getting it was to be able to stitch out custom quilt labels as well as embroider smaller embellishments for my kids, and it's more than capable of doing that for me. I do like being able to set the machine up to do it's thing while I work on something else on my sewing machine... with my 7570 I literally had to sit there with my foot on the foot control to make it stitch (or wedge the control under something) and that was torturous. I'll probably never have a combo machine again... but even if I did, since I now have 4 other sewing machines (long story) I'd still be able to find another to work on

The only downside I've really heard about the cheap machines is that they don't last, but you know what, I really don't care... expensive machines don't always last either. When the electronics go out or there are no parts available to fix what is wrong with your machine, you could still end up with an expensive paperweight (happened with my 7570 when it was only 10 years old). If my "cheap" brother only lasts a year I'm honestly okay with that and I would replace it with another. I consider a machine in it's price range semi-disposable. Labor to fix anything majorly wrong with it (once it is out of warranty) would probably cost more than replacing it.

gale

I also have the PE500. I only wanted it for making quilt labels so the 4 x 4 size is fine for me. I didn't want to spend so much on a machine that I won't use a lot. I might do some small embroidery just because I have it but so far have not had the need for a bigger hoop.