If you aren't one to miss needle up/down, speed control, variable needle positions, auto cutters, etc.. the Jem Gold or a featherweight (or other mechanical) are perfect due to compact size, beautiful stitch, ease of use, low maintenance and cuteness. If you do like those computerized features, you may not be happy using a mechanical machine for long. I go to a large quilting group sew-day and quite a few do use trolleys to bring in TOL $$ combo machines, a few others use mechanical vintage or newer..always there are a few Jems but most popular w/ this group are the janomes at the