New machine
I am a 80 yr. Old beginner quilter (about 2 years in) and health issues confine me to bed a good part of the day. I have taken to piecing by placing a board on my lap, with sewing machine on top. I am using a Brother se350 (early adoption of the now se600) I’m not interested in the embroidery part, just the sewing. I like all the features the sewing machine has, which includes among other things, auto thread cutter, auto reverse locking stitch, fix button, etc. and it is light weight. I really don’t want to go higher that $650, so price is an issue.
But my most pressing need is a VERY smooth feed, as my hands shake so keeping my seams straight is a real challenge (even using metal guides)
I could get another Brother 600, but since I don’t need the embroidery, I imagined there would be another counter part to it that offered all the same bells and whistles, but without the embroidery. My searching leads me to the Brother Pacesettter PS 500 ($599) which looks good, except for the weight (20 lbs.) and lifting that weight on and off my lap to iron and cut would be difficult. I am aware of the Janome 3160, but it doesn’t have a Serpentine stitch, which I often use and like. There is also the Janome Skyline3 that seems to have the features I want, but again, it is too heavy.
Do any of you know of another lighter weight machine with all the features currently available in the Brother se 600 without embroidery and lighter weight and most important has a very smooth advanced feed? Sorry for the long post. I just needed to explain my particular situation.