I would not a buy a sewing machine from HSN ... I regardless of which brand you buy, it is always smart to have a local dealer for education, service, and community. I bought a new near top of the line Brother machine from eBay, as it turned out, it was a lemon. The brother dealer refused to service it under warranty since I did not buy the machine from him. He complained about people who buy from Walmart and online and then go crying to him for service or to teach them how to use it ... I guess he has a point. But I would suggest you visit the SM dealers in your area, get a feel for how they could treat you as a customer and do try several brands ... for the most part, they all have good features. My Brother is in the closet and I bought a Bernina which I love. My friend has a Janome and she wins State Fair medals all the time and I have liked several Janomes that I have tried (especially their little 12 pounder , QC something or other, it had all the features I would consider necessary and had a good solid feel to it (I think it runs in the 600-700 range) but my DH put his foot down about collecting machines after having spent several thousand on my Bernina. Good luck.