Pennysgirl says hello!
 

:shock:Hi! I am a self taught sewer who recently fell in love with quilting. I found this place when I was looking for advice on buying a new machine. My Singer Quantum feed dog bolt broke and they discontinued the replacement part (what??.) So sad! I was in the middle of free motion quilting for my first time (I usually just stitch in the ditch, do x’s, or lines... simpler stuff.) I don’t make perfect quilts- mostly for myself and close family- because we appreciate them. If anyone has advice on a good machine that would be great! I really don’t want to spend more than 500 but will if it’s worth it... definitely want to keep it under 1000.
-best regards,
pennysgirl

Welcome to the board. Janome and Brother have a fairly good reputations, even on the low end. There's also a new brand, called Sparrow, they also have a good reputation. Personally, I wouldn't buy any Singer younger than the 60's. LOL

Don't rule out vintage or used machines, but be sure to take them on a good test drive. Dealers have trade-ins, Craig's list is full of "gently used" machines around here. Sometimes people are downsizing and you can get a heck of a deal on a cabinet system including the machine.

I had a good modern sewing machine back before they went computerized, a major part broke and I could not get it replaced/fixed -- of course, it was not included in the warranty either. For the last 20-30 years I used the same vintage machine that was older than I am the originally belonged to a friend's grandmother. Just this past fall a friend gave me a modern Bernina that she didn't like, I have to say I love the advantages and options but they aren't strictly necessary. For me though, the big thing was the throat size of my old machine was just too small for quilting and other than the simplest things and small projects, I was going to have to find other ways to quilt stuff down.

I don't know the Quantum so I'm not sure of the features you are used to, I can see how it would be sort of hard to go from a modern machine to a vintage one, but the very simplicity has a lot of appeal. You can do your own maintenance for example. Really all a quilting machine needs is a good steady smooth straight stitch, everything else is gravy. Nothing wrong with liking gravy and going full smothered and covered though! And, if you do anything fancy you need a machine that can do fancy stuff. Me, mostly I just straight stitch but I'm trying to learn the new machine.

Welcome from western NY and happy quilting :)

Welcome from NE Ohio.

I have Brother sewing machines and am very pleased with them. If you intend to do FMQ, get the largest throated machine you can afford. Have lots of fun on your quilting adventure!

Welcome from Tennessee. I have a Brother that I love also. Not high end but good for me

Welcome from North Carolina! I had a high priced computerized Viking H. that broke down after about 3 or 4 years and it couldn't be fixed. No repair person would look at it. They all said that it wasn't worth fixing. I bought a Singer Heavy Duty one at Walmart for $99 and it does everything I ask of it. I sew about 6 to 8 hours a day and I've had it for several years. It just chugs along without a problem. Sometimes less fanciness is much better.

Welcome from Southern California! If you have a local sewing machine dealer go in and test drive a few different machines. I have a Janome MC6600 that I fell in love with during a test drive. It had a lot of bells and whistles I never used before so was very worried I was spending a lot of money for something I would never use. But I took the classes that came with the machine and learned to use. them. So now I do. So I agree with the idea that buying the best machine you can afford. (That does not mean spend more than you should, just be willing to stretch yourself not your budget.)