Hi, Kim, welcome! And welcome to quilting!

As you said, this is a totally subjective question. But I will tell you my experience.

About 10 years ago I went to a sewing expo. One of the classes I took was embroidering with a Brother PC8500 (mid level combo sewing/embroidery machine). I had seen machines embroidering on their own at JoAnn's and never thought I'd be interested.

The class showed me how easy the machine was to operate and how you could combine and resize designs, and I was hooked! They were selling them for a hugely discounted price at the expo so I took the plunge and bought it.

I've enjoyed the machine but find I have very little desire to embroider. About a year ago I bought a machine with quilting-specific features and I love it! I kept the Brother, even though I hardly ever embroider.

Just keep in mind that technology changes FAST and the machine you buy today will be obsolete very soon. My emb. machine uses the small cards that require a reader/writer box for copying designs from my computer. I know today's machines use USB drives or connect directly to computers, but that technology will be obsolete someday, too.

Donna

Donna, thank you for your reply! I also don't have a "desire" to embroider except as I mentioned above. So when was the last time you embroidered something? Also tell me what quilting machine you bought! If I abandon the embroidery part, I will have to start my search over again!... Thanks!

Kim, I think the last thing I embroidered was a quilt label...maybe six months ago. :)

Last year I got a Baby Lock Espire. It was used; I believe they don't make it any more. They now have a series with musical names...Symphony, Etc. I really like it a lot. The quilting features are great! It has a straight stitch plate, automatic foot lifter, several free motion feet, etc.

Donna

Ok, Donna! I'm actually looking at the Babylock Crescendo if I go quilting only. Trying to weigh the embroidery usage vs. cost of the Babylock Unity. Both have 11.25" necks.

I'm with you about technology changes, so the Destiny doesn't seem like a good decision at that cost. I keep coming back to the fact that our family has never owned computers, printers/scanners, cameras, cell phones, gaming equipment... for more than 5 years before buying new.

Thank you so much for your input!

I've just had this discussion with my sister in law who doesn't quilt and doesn't embroider but has gotten the bug to buy a machine. She decided against getting the embroidery machine but this is really a personal choice. What style of quilts do you like now, what do you think you might like in the future, how much will technology change? So many questions! For me, it's all about the size of the throat/neck but if I were buying a machine this week, I'm not sure which I would choose.

Let us know what you decide on!

Welcome to the forum!
Kate

I wasn't sure whether I would get into embroidery, but I love including embroidery in my quilts. I bought a Janome 350e embroidery machine, which uses 4x4" and 5x7" hoops. There have been a few times that I wished I had larger hoops, but I am happy with my machine. I've had it for 3+ years, and have done a lot with it. Of course, it's a matter of personal preference. And remember that, if you get an embroidery machine, you will need to invest in thread, stabilizers, etc. Plus, while it is great for making quilt labels, you are limited in the size of lettering and font...unless you buy digitizing software, which is expensive and has a steep learning curve.

Wanda, good to know that the smaller hoop sizes have worked well for you. On your quilts, do you embroider on the tops only or through the entire quilt? The sales reps were saying I could embroider through all layers, but I don't think the back of the embroidery would look "polished" like the front...?

Sorry if I sound so clueless! It's because I've used a Viking 190 for (ahem) 29 years... I don't even have a satin stitch. Perhaps I'd be a happy camper with just all the decorative stitches. I certainly don't want to feel like I'm captive to the computer/software!

Thanks so much for your advice!

Another point of view:
I have a Viking Quilt Designer that uses stitch D cards that features the ability to do embroidery stitches on many items, not just quilts. I have never cared for the heaviness of embroidered designs and knew that I did not want a machine that did these designs. But I have enjoyed making kitchen towels and other simple projects using the decorative stitches on the digital "cards" that add to what my machine can do.

Teresa

I have no input on embroidery machines other than this: as in my post on the recent issue on quilting machines, is there no way you can test-drive different ones? It would be a shame to pay a lot of money for something that you find after you've done so is not really what you want to do. About 15 years ago, I noticed on more than one occasion in the local shops that women had bought very expensive machines just because they had been talked into it and they were sitting there with the salesperson getting their little "lesson". I could tell by the look on their face that they had realized that they had made a huge mistake. When DH surprised me with a new sewing machine about 5 years ago, the salesperson tried her best to sell him a very expensive machine with all the computerized embroidery features. He had told her that I was a quilter but she ignored him. I am so glad that he didn't cave in and bought a lower-end machine geared for quilters with some decorative stitches also. It was like pulling wisdom teeth trying to get just the little "lesson" on how to use that one much less what it would have been like to get trained on one of those fancy ones, which I wouldn't have been interested in anyways. I do occasionally use the decorative stitches on my machine and although not fancy, I can make simple labels with them. Of course if money is no object there's no sense even pondering it, but if it is I say try to see if you can try them out somewhere first. But since the showrooms are geared for selling, not training that might not be an option??

I embroider on the tops only--I agree that the back would not look "polished". I use the embroidery machine for a lot of things, but mainly for quilts. I decided on an embroidery-only machine, rather than a combination sewing/embroidery one, because I can be sewing on the sewing machine while the embroidery machine is doing its thing. A lot of my favorite designs take more than an hour to embroider (some take more than 2 hours), and I am a multi-tasker by nature, so it's hard for me to sit and wait for the embroidery machine to finish. I bought the digitizing software and even bought a DVD with detailed instructions, but I'm still not much more than a beginner. I can resize designs and create labels, but I can't actually digitize a design.

If you decide to try embroidery, I do recommend that you get at least the 5x7" hoop...the 4x4" is too limiting IMO.

If you have questions, feel free to ask, or you can email me through My Page.

Here's a picture of a quilt on which I used embroidery...

Beautiful quilt, Wanda!

Yes Wanda, lovely quilt! I think it would be nice to have the option of quilting a block. That is an option - to entertain an embroidery machine later...

Rita, I totally agree with you about test driving. If only I could use one in my home for 15-30 days. I'd know with certainty whether it was right for me. I even thought it would be worth it to rent one to use for a while, but no one does that to my knowledge.

It is a frustrating process. Brother and Babylock allow me to select models to compare online, but when I print those and take them to a store, I find the information listed is incorrect.

Ok, taking a step back and looking at quilting only. I discovered the Babylock Crescendo quilting machine has monogramming fonts on it! So it must mimic embroidery in some way. Well, I'm off to another store first chance I get this week.

Thanks every one for your comments!

I won't be much help. I have the embroidery and quilting bug. I've gone as far as buying a 6 needle embroidery machine. I made a baby quilt (dog print fabric) a few weeks ago, and embroidered the outline of a dog bone in the middle of the quilt instead of quilting it. I'm still trying to decide what else it needs, but it was nice to have the option to do the embroidery.

Robbi

And another thing to consider re the comment that the embroidery wouldn't look as nice on the back...

You can get digitized quilting designs that are meant to be used for quilting. I got one with my Brother machine. I've only used it a couple of times, but you hoop all the layers. The quilting designs are basically heavy outlines that look the same on the back as the front.

Donna

Robbi and Donna, now you're swinging me back to embroidery! Ha! I'm going to a highly rated store in Dallas tomorrow and I may spend an entire day there!

LOL! Have fun, Kim!

Donna

Oops, duplicate post

This post was edited by msmeow on Wed, Nov 5, 14 at 12:23

I recently bought the BabyLoc Aria and I am in love with it... I have made and quilted 3 quilts with it and also make my own labels for them. Here is a label I just recently made with it...

I have 2 machines that I use for sewing and quilting. The oldest is a Janome 9000 which has several embroidery cards and the newest is a Pfaff performance 5.0. I have used the embroidery features on the Janome for quilting in the past and it does have cards that allows me to do cut work and quilting eq. feathers and designs. The back looks fine as far and I can see. I don't use it often but it's fun to have. The newer embroidery machines offer many more capabilities then my older machine. This said: the difference it the cost may be a factor and I try to get the best that meets my needs, but if the embroidery machine were in my budget it would be nice to have as it offers more options for creativity. MHO

I wanted to share one more thing with you. It is called Feathered Star, a Hoop Sisters pattern. My son wanted a quilt, and he liked this one. Other than assembly, the entire quilt is machine embroidery. It did most of it on my 6 needle, only because it was easier. I never have taken a picture of it finished, but here is one I took while I was sandwiching it.

Robbi

Robbi, I have seen that quilt on Pinterest and love it! I had no idea it was embroidered.

I wanted to thank you all for your input and let you know I bought the Baby Lock Crescendo quilting machine! I have had a fun day learning to use it.

After much consideration, I finally decided to forgo the embroidery for now. I'll get used to this machine and see what all it will do, then if I feel like I need embroidery I will buy a separate, probably used, embroidery machine.

I appreciate all your thoughts and suggestions!

Happy Quilting!
Kim

Robbi, that quilt is exquisite beyond words! I hope it is loved and appreciated, as I can only imagine how much time and love went into its creation.

Thank you, Wanda. It was a labor of love. My son uses it on his bed every night.

Kim, Congratulations!! I know you will get many hours or happy sewing on your new machine.

Robbi