I would go to a dealer and look at different machines. Many times they will have a good refurbished machine at a lower cost. You want a machine that will work properly because nothing discourages a new sewer faster than a machine that is not easy to run. Sometimes you can get a nice one at a garage sale to and with a cleanning and tune up, it works great. There are also new, lower cost machines great for beginners available at a dealer too. Take her along and ask her what she wants in a machine. Kids will use their imaginations and get a lot of creative ideas from a basic machine.