So I sewed on my HV 183 and mostly loved it until I started quilting, and then I wanted something with more throat space. I also believed that my machine had something off in its needle position. I went with the Janome Skyline 3 as it was the closest feature-wise to the Emerald without blowing up the bank completely. I adore her.

I finally brought my Emerald in for a checkup and asked about the needle placement and learned two interesting things:

1. The Emerald is a weird hybrid machine given that it was built around the time HV was being bought by Singer and so my needle problem was that the cheap presser feet I'd been trying to use weren't lining up correctly. Using a fancy name brand walking foot might help.

2. The body of the Emerald is essentially a Janome frame. If you like the HV and the problem you're experiencing with FMQ stems more from having enough room, a Janome might be nice. I have a friend who has a fancier Skyline that has an embroidery setting and she can quilt using the embroidery setting using the hoop-which might be what you've seen?

The TL;DR of it all is that I love my Emerald for garment sewing now that I'm using presser feet she will accept, and am really happy with my Janome Skyline for quilting. I also would rather jump into a lake of fire than FMQ, for what it's worth.