DGD getting first machine
 

My granddaughter just emailed me from Chicago wanting to know if I could suggest a good machine for her to buy. She does sew, wants to try first quilt and she said " I just am not sure how to differentiate between inexpensive, and cheap." Alas, I am in Pa. and she is in Arlington Heights, Ill. Any suggestions? for brand? a good LQS in Arlington Heights? A good starter machine?
I have had them all. Singer, sewed for years on a Kennmore, Janome, Viking, a couple of Berninas. Each had something I really liked. Oh, how I wish I could take her shopping. Gave the usual advise, try them out, learn how easy/hard they are to use, LQS gives most info but pushes their machine & may be pricey, figure out what you want to do with it, etc.
NOt many of my friends quilt so I am turning to my friends at the QB. Thanks for any help you can give me.

If I were buying a new sewing machine right now, I think I would buy a Janome 6600 or 7700. I have heard so many good reports from quilters on this board about the Janomes. My local LQS sells Janome and the girls there have them as their home machine. They are quilters too. That being said, I think it is important to try different brands to see what "feels" right. And the other consideration is buy from someone nearby so you can get good service when you need it. Now, if she has lots of money to spend, that new Bernina 780 sure sounds nice! Have fun shopping.

I bought my DGD a Janome Jem. She loves it. It is easy to thread and the drop in bobbin is easy for her and it's good enough for any advanced sewer. The vintage Singers are intimidating for many because of the outside threading and knobs. I have a white FW saved for her when she is old enough to appreciate it.

One of my DGD's expressed a desire to sew when she was but 11...so her Mama took her and they bought the little Janome ?Gem? I think it is. We did a lot of projects on that machine and as far as I know it's still running fine. So that would be one of the ones I would recommend.

I was born and raised in Arlington Hts...i live in NC now. Small world!

Brother PC-420 or 210 from amazon, they are relatively inexpensive 3-400, BUT NOT CHEAPLY MADE, they come with all the accessories she needs and some nice features, needle threader, thread cutter, needle down. if my baby like my cheap machine and wants more its what i plan to get her one day

I would go to Hancock Fabrics or Joann and see if they have Janome's there. I have a Janome 8050 and had problems with it and returned it with no trouble, just handed me a new one, and this one seems great so far. It was on sale from $370 to $270 and should last years. The Janome at the quilt store that is about the same thing (i think the magnolia) is $575 so I think it's a pretty good way to go.

Thanks so much everyone. I have sent the replies on to her and I'm sure they will be helpful.

The Janome 8050 is closest to the DC1050, I think. I got mine at the beginning of the year for $229. I would expect to see this go on sale, down to $250... possibly even as low as $199, during the upcoming Christmas season.

If you are still looking for a good LQS in Arlington Heights, I would recommend checking out Quilter's Destination in Arlington Heights, IL. I only recently found this store when looking for Janome dealers in the area. Janome is the only brand they sell and they are currently in the process of expanding their store to 3 times the original size. I have found the employees to be very friendly and helpful at this store. I recently took the first part of their beginning quilting class where the top of a baby size quilt is pieced. I enjoyed the class very much and thought it was well taught and I learned a lot. I also liked that they limited the size of their beginning quilting class to a maximum of 4 students. I am looking forward to going back as they have opened the new part of the store.