I think that's the one I want also :)

any kind of Brother brand from Walmart...I had to take it back twice and finally just got my Janome Memorycraft 4800...it is a dream machine, I don't regret the extra cost. The quality is well worth it.

I bought a nice new Elna computerized machine (retail $1500 but I got it on sale for under $1000) in 1992. It was a piece of JUNK. Every plastic piece on it eventually broke off. Now I drive a 35 yo Viking Turissa and love it.

Used to own a top of the line Bernina (at the time I bought it - they just keep getting better and more and more expensive ALL BRANDS) and loved it! But we then became an authorized Pfaff dealer at our quilt shop and I sold the Bernina. Started using a Pfaff and fell in deeper love. For a quilter, you absolutely CAN NOT beat the IDT! Accurate piecing, even top and bottom fabric feed whether you are sewing the top together or quilting the quilt itself. I will never buy another brand now. I believe that Janome now has a similar mechanism on some of their machines. But, Pfaff owned the patent on it for over 20 years. They have worked out all the kinks in the IDT. Pfaff is the original.

All of that being said, what we used to tell all of our customers is this: "Buy the most expensive and nicest machine you can afford now. You can always grow into a machine that has functions and capabilities you may not think you need. But, when you outgrow one, all you can do is suffer through it or get a minimal return on your investment and upgrade."

I could go on and on. Hubby being a service tech for all brands of sewing machines knows all the "inner workings" of all brands. You really do get what you pay for. I can tell you that the most well made brands out there are Bernina and Pfaff. Stitches and functions, bells and whistles aside we did the least amount of repairs on those brands and they are just simply better built.

Good Luck! I know it is a huge decision.

Ruth, you've gotten some really great advice. I can only add that in my experience, where you get it is just as important than what you get, especially as the machines move up the money ladder. When I wanted to really get into sewing, I went to a Viking Dealer. I want to be able to pick up the phone, or grab a machine and project and go for help, classes and an excuse to be around other sewers. I've been fortunate in that I was able to get a Scandinavia 400 and a used Designer 1. The 400 was new and I love her to death; I relied on the dealer for the D1 and have had many problems with it. I'm doing all my quilting on the 400.

I've been told many things by dealers and their employees; my best advice is to ask for recommendations, visit and learn who you feel comfortable with. If something doesn't sound quite right; trust your instincts and walk away until you can check it out with others who have that brand of machine. Its a lot of money, even for a smaller machine. I've found a new dealer who didn't balk at my having the service manual for my D1 (I've been that desperate!), who has classes and teachers I can learn from, who doesn't let 'user error' be the first words out and is happy when I walk in the door. I went in the other day and within the first minute of looking at the Babylock Quest I was asked if I'd like to sew on it (some dealers I've been to won't let you actually sit at a machine and sew - they don't get my money.)

LOL on sewing in a tent. :) Janome's treadle machine was introduced for the Amish customers as they don't have electricity. Wouldn't be a bad machine to have, you could get a work out while you sew.. LOL

I sewed on my Mum's singer, it did what I wanted it to do, but was very basic. I used my sister's singer and it had it's quirks. My sister in law owned a White and it sewed beautifully. I got my first machine, a Singer in 1980, my late husband bought it for me for Christmas, I didn't have any problems with it. In 1985 he bought me my Janome Memory Craft 7000 and I gave the singer to a friend who used it up until last year. My Janome paid for itself a few times over and is still sewing like the day I got it. In almost 23 years it never saw the inside of a repair shop. If it acted up it was because it needed to be cleaned.

Two months ago I bought a Pfaff Performance 2056 and I love it! The IDT feature is awesome. My new machine shares the sewing table with the Janome and they get along just fine. I won't get rid of the Janome because it has sentimental value :)

I bought my daughter a Janome Jem for her first machine and that machine was a nightmare!

ANd you wouldn't have an excuse when electricity was out, either! I could sew while DH was watching TV and not bug him! LOL!

No offense taken. You are right for the most part.
You can get nice things for cheap, but they usually aren't going to last as long...BUT...you don't always get what you pay for...sometimes the item (be it car, sewing machine, or anything) is just a lemon no matter how much it cost or what brand.

Now that is a wonderful post! Awesome!