Should I keep my old machine?

welll... there is the time you need a spare one for:

1. when your normal one is in the shop for repairs & maintenance
2. when you normal machine has a hissy fit and refuses to work till after it has done #1
3. just in case
4. it's nice to be able to leave you normal machine in place when doing the quilting and you have a quick repair job to do
5. for taking to classes (it is smaller than the new one isn't it?)

need more excuses reasons?

For when another quilter come to visit?

When a friend comes over to sew with you.

Gosh, I still have my wife's old Singer Fashionmate and would hate to have to use it. It's what caused my wife to stop sewing and start knitting. Although I will probably never get rid of it :)

Definitely yes. I often use the old one for PP, so I don't have to switch needles. Or the new one is set up for MQ and then I can sew some normal things on the old one. Or I have dark thread in one SM and light thread in the other. Or .....:-) Heidi from Germany "Boca Jan" schrieb:

please remove quilt from address

If the 6600 is anything like the 6500, I would keep your 'old' sewing machine for use anywhere other than the sewing room table (or whatever!). I can *just* lift my 6500 from the table to the floor - perhaps a few feet further, but no more. I traded mine for the 6500, so I had to buy another one for a 'second string' machine! . In message , Boca Jan writes

I'm not the one to ask -- I'll always say KEEP IT! I now have four sewing machines and a serger her at home and another one at DD's in Lizard Land! The only machine I don't use is the really old Singer in a cabinet and that's just because it's too difficult to get the thing opened what with all the cat stuff I have sitting on top of it :-)! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

Thank you thank you thank you. I wanted to keep my old one - for many of the reasons you gave me, but DH thought I should ask. Even if it is nothing more then thread in a different color. I often times work on two different projects at once, and this would help me out. :-)

Thanks for your comments.

new machine is a Janome 6600 old machine is a 3 yo Kenmore which works just fine.

Why would you get rid of such a lovely to use machine?

Debra in VA See my quilts at

I would definitely keep the machine. My mother kept her old Bernina when she got her new one. When I started up she loaned it to me, and now that I have my own (thanks to my wonderful DM's X-mas gift) she has it back and uses it regularly. She uses it when the new one is in the shop, when its is having a hissy like others have said. She also has put it in her living room for awhile so that if she didn't feel like sewing in her basement sewing room, she didn't have to lug her other machine elsewhere, she already had one set up. Unless you really don't have the room to house both the new and the old, I would definitely keep it. You never know what you may have for it to do, and wish you had it back otherwise. JMHO.

A "friend" gave me a Fashion Mate she rescued from a dumpster. It needs a little work and I probably won't get it fixed for a couple of years. After reading Denny's note, I wonder if it's worth it. Any comments from other Fashion Mate owners out there?

For sure, keep the old one! I now have four working machines, 2 FW, a 301 and a 30-year-old Kenmore. Love them all, use them all--though I admit I

*could* give up one of the FWs if pressed. I also have a Fashion Mate that a friend rescued from a dumpster, it needs repair but I can't bring myself to get rid of it until I can get it fixed and try it out.

I piece on the FWs, machine quilt on the 301, and use the Kenmore for sewing anything other than quilts.

My daughter's MIL gave her an "old" Kenmore to put in a rummage sale. My daughter rescued it and gave it to me. Now to find the time to go get it.

Well, it's certainly not a high end machine but I bought a basic one when I could afford nothing else and it's been running for years and years and has made lots of garments and quilts and never once has had to go in for service. I kept it clean and oiled and lubricated as per the instructions in the manual. I have a much more sophisticated machine now, but it's been to the repair shop twice and I've pulled out the Fashionmate both times so that I wouldn't have to stop sewing.

Carole in Northwest GA - Retired and loving it! Homepage -