New Member and a beginner quilter
 

Good Morning everyone. I'm a new member and a beginner quilter. My machine is a Baby Lock Jazz II, which I bought in June and already in the shop. So a little frustrated.

Hi Donna, sorry your machine is in the shop. That's a bummer for sure. A lot of us have backup machines for times like that.
Welcome to the board! You can learn a ton here :)

Welcome from Michigan!:)

Hi Susie: Thank you for the welcome. I am thinking of asking my husband to buy me a basic, inexpensive sewing machine for Christmas. Something easily portable, under $300, don't need a bunch of stitches or features. Will probably use just to piece quilt blocks or simple sewing. Good enough to take to a sewing class if I ever wanted to take one. Would love recommendations on a particular brand and model. The Jazz II is very heavy and not easily portable as I found out when I took it to the repair shop. Thanks.

Donna, there is one I've heard great things about. It's called Eversewn. They have several models but all are affordable. If I needed one I'd buy it in a heartbeat. My Bernina dealer sells them so I have a feeling they must have something to do with that company.
Go to Amazon and check them out!
I'm sure there are many other machines but that was the first one I thought of.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=eversewn+...nb_sb_ss_i_6_8

Another good deal on a basic machine is the Brother at Costco.
https://www.costco.com/Brother-XR334...100421876.html

I have a super cheap Brother for classes which is currently set up because working cheapo beats Bernina that needs to go to the shop!

edit:

But I got distracted -- welcome to the Quilting Board from what is currently a cold dark Seattle :)

Welcome, Donna, from blustery 24-degree Maryland. Glad you decided to take up this addictive hobby. We will enable you as much as you want. LOL. Sorry about your machine. Hopefully it's a simple fix and permanent!

Like SusieOH, I thought immediately of the Eversewn which has gained popularity in the past year or two . Getting great reviews for the value. If I needed one, I'd certainly put it on the short list. That said, for simple sewing, nothing fancy, portabiltiy, and low cost, check out a Brother in your price range. Or check FB Marketplace for one; often they are new in box for $30-100, depending on how quickly the seller wants to unload it. I bought a cheapo mechanical Brother for $20 to keep at my sister's in KY. And yes, she asked me to make curtains for her log cabin while I was visiting!

Welcome from Alberta, Canada. I hope you get your machine back soon.

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Featherweights are in great demand, but wonderful machines. Unlike full sized cast iron Singers or industrial Husqvarnas. Welcome from Kansas, USA

BTW Donna even if new machines say they never need oil. it ain't necessarily so. Ask your tech,

Welcome from Oregon!

Hi & Welcome!

I hope you have your machine back soon. Good idea to get a back-up machine. It's nice to have choices when one of our machines acts naughty!

Hi, Welcome to the Board!

Bummer about your machine!

Welcome from North Carolina. Hope you get your machine back soon and it runs smoothly here on out.

Welcome from western NY and happy quilting :)

A warm welcome from Southern Indiana...where it's really, really cold right now!

Welcome from Colorado I am new to the board and quilting as well.

Welcome from NE Ohio.

a warm welcome from western Ky. way cold here and still have some of our first snow and my heater is not working good thing I have lots of quilts, lol I love the singer feather weights and can service them my self with book and DVD

Like the others, the Eversewn has quite a good reputation, even the low end Brothers and Janomes, just don't get a new Singer, they no longer have a good repuation, although the old Singers are great.

Thank you all for the great suggestions and warm welcomes. I will check out the Eversewn online and I have already looked at some of the Brothers.

Welcome to the QB from SE Michigan! Sorry to hear your machine is already in the shop. That has to be so frustrating. So glad you have decided to take the plunge into quilting. Once bitten by this block there will be no stopping your creative juices.