Years ago I bought a Kenmore Sewing Machine at Sears. It is the equivalent of a Singer. I love it. When I originally sewed it was for clothing and like the Singer because it had a buttonhole maker. Today I still use this machine for all of my piecing of quilts. It has performed especially well even after all these yers. It has marks on the needle plate and one is for the 1/4" which is the standard seam allowance in quilting. The drawback is that I don't have double needle capability nor does it have needle up/needle down capibility. However, for a first machine I would recommend it and the price is not overwhelming.
Several years ago my loving husband and 2 sons bought me a Husqvarna Embroidery machine which I really love and use to embellish my quilts but when I am constructing the quilt I always return to using the Singer.
Hope this helps.