If you have a Pfaff or know about them...please comment.

[Ginny B]

I have the Ambition Essential and love it. It has some decorative stitches and needle down. It is great for what I do. Haven't tried much fmq with it yet - just some practice pieces and it seems to do fine. I paid around $700 for it a couple years ago.

[ctab]

I have test drove both the ambition and the expression. I really liked the idt. Unfortunately, I found that my big hands had trouble with the buttons on the machine. I also found that finding the buttons quickly was more difficult with the purple on purple machine. But, that is totally a user preference that you will only know by sitting at a machine.

I would recommend adding the babylock Aria to your test driving.

[LRM]

I have owned two of the older Pfaffs, my current model is the 2140 with the Embroidery unit. I love the IDT it goes thru most anything and has most the bells and whistles. Most of the newer Models that are used in my area run about 1500 to 2400 depending on the model. They are now made in China so it seems the review of the newer models had some issues but what I read and having talked with the dealers its a small percentage compared to what they sell. Lots of people trade in this time of year so its a good idea to go in and test drive several to get the feel of them.

As I talked about machines with my SIL she made a comment about Pfaff (and other brands) being made in China and wondered if the quality was there. I reminded her that her iPhone, computer, and most other appliances in her home were made in China. A company's quality control determines the quality, not necessarily its "made in..." label. My dealer said he still thinks Pfaff is a high quality product -- very few issues.

[Cfrankl]

My MIL bought me a PFAFF 2036 way back in 2002, great machine, worked great for what I wanted it to do. When I got bigger into making quilts and wanted to start FMQing I upgraded to the Expression 3.2 last Jan it was on sale for $1200 (CDN) I love the hug throat space and I have made about 10 quilts this year, all pieced and quilted with this baby, some straight line and some FM, which I am loving doing by the way!!

I am not liking that they are all under the Huskvarna company now, had I known that I might have gone with something else, like I said my first machine was PFAFF so that is what I stuck with

[Alpha O]

What disappointed me with the 2140 series is the way setup for FMQ is handled. Previously, I had a 1471 and a 1475. If you wanted to FMQ, there was a third position on the foot lifter. You lifted the foot and moved the lever over. Simple.

2100 series, it's done electronically. You have to choose the settings.

New Pfaffs - drop in bobbin. I'd rather have vertical. A lot easier to deal with a mess or a snarl underneath when embroidering.
You can see to cut threads and then move the hoop. The IDT has been constant, though. I think I miss the 1475 the most.

I had a 2140, mine said Made in Sweden. So does the 2144 which I still own. The 2170s came in with Made in the Czech Republic.
The 1400 machines were German.

Since I have the 2144 and I like the way it sews, I bought the Brother PQ1500S straight stitch high speed machine. Larger harp and cheaper than another combo machine.

Babylocks are known for being very user friendly. Babylock also has a huge site with free projects and patterns for their products.
I don't have a BL Sewing Machine, but I do have their embroidery and quilting software.
Free Sewing and Embroidery Projects from Baby Lock

There are Pfaff Groups on Yahoo both for the machine and software. If you use Embird, there is a Yahoo forum for that, too.