My wife has made do all these years with older hand-me-down machines. If she ever had a new one, it was long ago and a cheap one. back then, though, she didn't do much sewing except for making and mending clothes.
Now she's discovered the joys of quilting. But her machine isn't really up to the task of lots of piecing, going through the sandwich, and long runs in the ditch (much less trying anything fancier). And she's just really getting into it, but the machine can be so frustrating!
So I'd like to see if me and the kids (all of whom are now older than she was when she married me!) can pool together and get her a new decent machine for Christmas. Nothing computerized and complicated, but capable of handling 'most anything she wants to do. She's trying to finish her second quilt right now - and has realized that maybe she needs to do some smaller projects to get more confident before tackling another big one. And she loves doing pot holders (she's got the "Pretty Little ... " book series).
What machines would y'all recommend? Ed