I think a small brother, they are inexpensive, lightweight, very user friendly, have loved all of mine. if you have a higher budget, I like the higher end brothers and babylocks. really its hard to say people love and hate all brands so you will get lots of opinions. I would try some out at a dealer to see what features you would like to have, also maybe hcekc yard sales or craigslist you can get some nice machines for cheap that people are trying to get rid of, and then save up for a nicer one untill you find out what you like and want in a machine. I was able to do all my tops on my low end brothers and saved up for my babylock espire. I was going to purchase a cheaper high end machine but I tried my machine and fell in love