No real useage yet but if I do any sewing (and I hope to do some) it will be on one of the vintage machines. In particularly it will be on a treadle or hand crank machine.
In real life I program computers for a living and, like many other programmers I know, I have a tendency to go for simplicity in my toys. Bicycles, antique woodworking tools and now people powered sewing machines. I know full well that it's an affection - my iPhone is right there with me to remind me that I'm really not a ludite
- but it's still how I like to enjoy myself.
I'm also somewhat particular about the looks of the machines. I love the more ornate decals and the machines that demonstrate a 'waist', particularly if they have the smooth, rounded lines of the classic Singers like the 66 or the smooth rectangular sections of the Frister & Rossmanns. Once again, I understand that style doesn't relate to performance and some of the 'sperm whale' shaped machines (301, 185, Rocketeers, etc...) are great sewing machines. If I were going to be using them for production work I'd want the best performance. Since I'm not I'll settle for lesser performance but killer looks.