Advice about a machine

Another idea would be to check out used machines in some of the major brands (I'm partial to Bernina, but also check out Husqvarkna, Pfaff, Janome, etc.). Singer doesn't have such a great reputation anymore, unless you're talking about one of their older machines. HTH. :)

The Singer 401 is one of those good older machines, and it has a lot of different stitches. Another good brand that hasn't been mentioned is Elna. Some of the old Elna Supermatics have a lot of different cams for embroidery stitches and stretch stitches.

Julia in MN

No, Debbie, you can not have a Kenmore that's plastic and costs $59. You can not even look at anything Singer has made in the last 40 years. Clean and oil the dear old girl you have, buy her some nice new needles and some great thread such as Aurifill. I would just heaps and lots rather have an old metal reliable machine. A new inexpensive machine will aggravate you to pieces and really hamper your growth as a quilter. Trust us. And don't think you can sneak around and do it anyway because we are watching. Don't make us come down there. Polly

LOL!!! I like you Polly.

Ok, ok, ok. I will not buy a cheap inexpensive thing. I will take care of my old girl and I will wait until I can buy a *good* used machine. Will go window shopping and lust for the Berninas. That is what seems to be the rage around here.

Thank you all for your responses. You are the best.

Happy Turkey Day!!!!!

Debbie

Just make sure that you sew on the machine that you are getting before you leave the store- I paid $700.00 for a Bernina and I can't even use it because the presser foot pressure it too hard and it pushes the fabric to the left when I try to sew with it. I thought it was me and didn't really sew on it a lot and when I took it back to the store, it was beyond the warranty period and they told me that on that model that was factory set and that there really wasn't anything that they could do about it and didn't seem interested in doing anything else and when I tried to contact Bernina, I didn't get any response at all. Needless to say, I will never buy anything at that store again and will never buy another Bernina sewing machine. So, I have a $700. machine that I can't use and can't sell. I have since bought a Janome and love it.

No, it is a Bernina Activa 125.

I don't think I've ever heard a 700.00 dollar machine called "cheap"!!! And I dug the thing out last night just out of curiosity and it sewed like a dream! So maybe it just needed a little rest- or maybe it needed me to get really, really mad at it!!!!

That's good news! Maybe it heard your threats! You can used Polly's term...."cranky pants!" for it. I'm glad it is working better for you. KJ