Your best buy would be a used machine. I'm not a big fan of Singer but they are easy to find. If you have a shop in your area that does sewing machine repair, you might check with them, and the local quilt shop. A model several years old of a good brand like Pfaff or Bernina won't cost the world, because it won't have all the bells and whistles that are on their current machines but if you're just getting started, that probably won't be a problem for awhile. You don't indicate what your price range. Just avoid buying a cheap, brand new machine because a cheap machine will be a constant frustration to you while you're learning.