I'm a huge fan of Janome. My very first machine was a Kenmore that has taken an amazing amount of abuse and neglect and still works great - I found out it was made by Janome years later. I have a 6600 now and I love it. I adore vintage machines and sew on them a lot too, but my 6600 is a pleasure to sew on and everybody who touches it loves it. My 10-year old niece has informed me that machine is "actually" hers but she'll let me keep it at my house until she's old enough to have her own house, lol. Who knows, by the time she moves out I just *might* give it to her!