Comment

Comment by Bethany/from CT on March 12, 2013 at 9:11am

You know, you are so right Debbie!  Too many choices and too much money!  My list has been narrowed considerably! It's hard to find prices on machines online....I found a few and since then, quite a few machines have been dropped!  My list is down to those around $1,000.  A few are slightly higher but I want a larger throat area and these machines are offering what I am looking for.  I have a feeling I am going to end up with the Pfaff but want to go and actually use the machines before I make up my mind completely.

Comment by Debbie Snyder/WA on March 12, 2013 at 8:41am

Boy of boy...what a tough job...too many to choices these days.  I have a Bernina and love it but also really like the Pfaffs.  I would never spend thousands and thousands on a machine again.  At least the Pfaffs are doable...4 of my friends have the new Pfaffs and love them with the built in walking foot.  Good Luck.... 

Comment by Bethany/from CT on March 11, 2013 at 10:50am

Wow ladies! You have all inspired me so much!! I think the problem is there are SOOOOO many great machines out there! Too hard to choose!  I don't have many dealers near me so that will limit me. :( I'm excited that we have a Big Quilt and Sewing Expo coming up next month.  I'm thinking maybe buying one of the demo machines would be great because they will be discounted.  On the other hand, since I'm goin to be invested a significant amount of cash, I'm thinking new out of the box is best.  What do you all think about that?

So far, I've got the following Makes/Models on my list:

For straight forward awesome quilting/sewing:

Brother Dreamweaver VQ3000

Pfaff Expression 150 Limited Edition

Pfaff 1.5 (this will be on special after the quilt show but very used....almost seems a lateral move from what I have, just more throat space).

Huskqvarna Sapphire 875 (around $1500 sound about right?)

 

Embroidery/sewing/quilting:

Janome HorizonMC 12000,

Janome MC11K special Edition

Pfaff Creative Performance 2.0

Brother DreamWeaver XE VM6200D

 

As you can see it's quite a list. I'm not sure about some of the prices of these as I don't have a dealer nearby and finding anything online is nearly impossible! I hate that! Oh well.  We'll see. If any of you can give me ideas of pricing in you areas that would be great.  I have to travel to the nearest dealer and that last time I was there they showed me a bottom feeder and said it was over $1,000! I know they were full of beans but I can't argue without facts.  Stinks that we don't have anyone around here.  Maybe I'll wait until we are on vacation.....pick the model and buy it when I'm where there are other dealers therefore competition to keep prices more reasonable. 

 

 

Comment by June Johnson/Wi on March 10, 2013 at 9:04pm

After seeing a Husquvarna Viking Sapphire 835 at quilt camp a week ago, my DH and I went to the Viking dealer in our area to see if they had another of that model.  Yes, they did.  But, my DH talked me into the next model a step up---the Sapphire 875.  It has a longer arm so I can FMQ with ease.  It also has automatic tension adjustment, needle threader, automatic thread cutter, needle up/down, many decorative stitches, bobbin drops in only the right way, bobbin winding without unthreading the needle.  It is deluxe!  Haven't had much chance to practice on it but I think I will love it.  Will go to dealer for instruction class and another class for FMQ in May.  Then, DH talked me into buying a Koala cabinet for the new machine; that will arrive in a few weeks.  Guess I should take DH shopping with me more often.  Then, on Friday DH and DSIL installed hardwood floor in my sewingroom which was carpeted; I can scoot all over the room on my chair now.  I think I died and went to Heaven.  I'm keeping my old machine and cabinet, too, an Elna I bought about 10 years ago; I love that machine, too, but FMQ a queen size quilt was a struggle.  I think all of that can be my birthday and Christmas presents for a few years.

Comment by enid wellman on March 10, 2013 at 8:21pm

I have the Brother pc420prw, and love it.  It has the deep throat for fmq, many decoative stitches, knee lifter, thread cutter, drop in bobbin.  the extention table is seperate, but Amazon has it for $399, which is less than I gave for it.  Just my 2 cents worth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comment by Carol Vickers/OH on March 10, 2013 at 6:47pm

I have a Janome Horizon and really like it.  Lots of different decorative stitches, many feet come standard with it and it has a built in walking foot.  I have had a problem with the convertible needle plate as the "convertible sliding plate" broke but my LQS ordered me a replacement at no charge.  Love the large throat area, thread snipper, and the ability to slow it way down when teaching my granddaughter. All in all, a great machine.  Got mine for about $2000....a lot of $$$ but less than many others.

Comment by colorado13 on March 10, 2013 at 4:41pm

I sew and free motion quilt on my Bernina 440 QE with the stitch regulator. It works really well for me.  It took a lot of practice to get to the point where I am happy with my free motion quilting, but now I am doing all of my own quilting, unless I want custom quilting on an heirloom quilt.  I got it about 8 years ago, and don't even remember how much it cost.  The stitch regulator is really cool; you can also change the speed.  I had to experiment with various threads to find one that consistently performs the way I wanted it to and looks the way I wanted it to look.  I tried different needles and settled on a topstitching needle size 80 or 90.  If I have a problem it is almost always the thread.  Anyway, I love my Bernina named "Betsy". 

Comment by Kathy/WA on March 10, 2013 at 2:16pm

My 2 cents for what its worth.  I also bought the Brother PQ 1500.  I love this machine.  The stitching is great but it does do only straight stitches. I have a long arm but after working and being on my feet all morning I wanted to sit and quilt.  The 1500 is great for that.  I have a Pfaff sewing machine for piecing blocks together but it sounds like it's on its last leg.  I was going to take the machine in but they wanted more to look at it than I thought it was worth.  I ordered the brother CS6000 that comes with several stitches as well as the button hole and zipper foot not that I will ever use them but they came with the machine. The price of the new sewing machine is considerably less than what my LQS wanted for looking at my old machine.  If the new brother is half as good as the 1500 I will be a happy camper.  A word of warning, or it could just be my LQS, both of these machines I've ordered from Amazon and the LQS will not honor even the manufactures warranty. I think it's because I didn't buy the machine from them but you might check with your LQS or sew and vac to besure they will look at the machine. I'm sure if you looked around it sounds like you could use a midarm machine that  could go on a table for longarm quilting and double as a regular sewing machine.

Comment by Amanda Best on March 10, 2013 at 11:35am

I just bought the Brother PQ1500 High Speed Quilting and Sewing Machine. I had been sewing on a simple Brother sewing machine, and couldn't finish any of my own bed size quilts. The new one is amazing in terms of speed, quality of stitches, and the large throat space, it is absolutely what I needed. The down side for some people might be that it is a manual machine, only straight stitch, that is what I wanted, as I never use decorative stitches, but some people do like them. I just find the straight stitch to be wonderful. The bobbin is a bit awkward, unless you are left handed and have tiny hands. I read all the reviews on Amazon and even though I couldn't really afford it I bought it anyway! I have dreamed of having a machine like this, and I didn't know if the price would go way up. Other brands, such as Juki and Baby Lock that are essentially the same machine are WAY more, cost wise. I don't have a picture of my machine, but here is the link to it on Amazon:

 http://www.amazon.com/Brother-PQ1500S-Quilting-Sewing-Machine/dp/B0...

Can you tell I love my sewing machine?

I hope you find exactly what you are looking for!

 

Comment by AidaCJ/NH on March 10, 2013 at 11:13am

I started doing FMQ on a Janome 1600P, which only had a straight stitch with only 9" throat, but a real heavy duty machine, it came with a New Joy quilting frame when I bought it pre-owned 4 years ago. Then I traded in my Janome 6600P with the Horizon model (7700QCP) and it is great for quilting because of its wider throat of 11".  I have done several queen size quilts on it, using pre-printed pattern on adhesive paper and it worked like a charm (taking the paper off was the bad part).  I like it a lot, there are several dealers in the area within 20 miles so I don't have a problem taking my machines to any one of them for servicing.  So far I haven't had any problem with any of the machines, I  use Connecting Threads cotton thread and YLI embroidery threads when doing fancy stitches, and they work fine, most of the error is on my part, when I get my senior moments, and the machine 'nicely' reminds me to fix it.

Here is a photo of my 'Horsie' (the 1600P) and Janine the Horizon.

Best thing to do is go to a dealer you can be comfortable with and test run their machines.

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