garbaby

May I suggest a Janome machine, I use the Janomes for quilting, sewing, embroidery and all other crafts. I do not think you can beat the price and durability of these machines. Our local Janome dealer is great and very helpful in all areas.

Shotgun

for thomas

I have a singer , about 1o years old I love it for straight sewing or piecing quilt tops It does have a few extra fancy stitches I can and do use some times. best she try one out sewing machine stores usually
have floor models to let her do that.

shot gun

quiltykiwi

Hi There . I now use a Brother NX400. and love it. Previously I used an Elna which I bought new in approx 1966 and I think I killed it with overwork. The fault with my Elna mainly was the fact that I couldnt drop the feed dogs, :cry: but the Brother does all that I want and more, still havent worked it all out yet and I have had it for a couple of years. :oops: Probably a slow learner :roll:

quilting grandpa,.

About 6 months ago a friend posted a message on free cycle
that is a site that you can get and give stuff away free.
she wrote telling that i wanted to teach my grandaughters how to sew and a short time later she recived a reply stating that i was to go and pick up a used singer simple zig zag sewing machine.i picked it up oiled it and began to quilt for the first time in my life i have sence made four quilts not bad for a beginner.

Mary Lou

Janome makes a small machine model JP 760. You should be able to get a good used one in your budget range. Just be sure to go to a dealer now a K-mart or that kind of a store. People trade up to bigger ones all the time. This is a small one that she will be able to take with her when she quilts with friends. I also have a Janome Memory Craft 6600 which is quite a bit more money but she could get one later if she decides to keep quitling.( and she will)

purplelady

Well, I have has singers and Kenmore and Bernia's and my choice is the Bernia. I have 2 now and working on getting the 3rd. I lost the deco one as I was not using it. I have the 170 and the 730. I love them both. But if you want a good machine and she is going to be doing a lot of quilting then the 830 Bernia or even the 730 is good. You can sew, emborider and almost do anything on it except do dishes, and make the bed lol. But the service is great. Take it in once a yr for a check up and a way you go. It is just like your car. You take that in for a service check, so you do the same for you sewing machine. I have not had to take my machine in for anything but my yearly check up. It is such a good machine and you can always find a dealer and a servious tech to answer your questions. No matter how dumb you think there are. I would not trade my machine for all the choc in the world. Best bet is go to a Bernia dealer and try one out. Just like a car. Sit and sew with it and tell them what you are going to be doing with the machine . Good luck Sharon from South Dakota

andy

What a great gift fot your wife! I love the used ELNA 6003 (with a walking foot) that I purchased from a long time quilter who was updating to the latest model, and I have made many quilts with it without problems. I suggest, as I did, that if you buy a used machine, have a dealer check it over first. (mine only needed a new cord which was worn)

quilting grandpa,.

a friend got me a machine on free cycle and that got me started quilting sence i have made 4 quilts for my grands its a simple singer zig zag nothing big it works fine.i think if i could afford a new machine it would be a brother they are a good choice.

larkinsma

I have a Janome Memory Craft 3000. I like it alot and did haveproblemswith the bobbin case, but the repair man put in a larger case 3 yr ago and it has been working fine since. I watch that it stays threaded correctly as at time the thread goes off the front track. The bed is average size and janome now sells a larger bed that handles quilting much better. I am postponing buying another machine at this time.
I also have a Simplicity machine and rarely use it. I don't advise a cheap machine from a discount store as you may end up paying more in repairs than the machine is worth. Good luck

Bev

Hey Tom:
Looks like I'm a bit late getting my two cents worth in, but here goes anyhow.
I started my quilting career off with a Janome Jem Gold. It served me well both as an at-home machine and to take to classes and workshops. It's light weight, easy to use, as in "user friendly", has some good features, and works like a charm every time. A big plus was the price, around 200.00 to 300.00 depending if you get it on sale or not. I believe my hubby got mine on sale (it too was a b'day gift) for $200.00 complete with a case and many attachments. So when I was ready to upgrade I went for the Janome Platinum (I've been using my "Jemmy" for about 7 or 8 years now.) I wanted something that would do just a little bit more and I wanted a new model. I bought the Platinum 760. It has everything I wanted or needed. I keep it set up at home all the time. But I still carry my Jemmy with me everywhere I go, even on long trips. I've never, I mean NEVER had a moment's trouble with either one of them. I, of course, take good care of them and have them each serviced every year like clockwork. Ya don't mess with a good thing! My dealer tells me Janome also makes Singer now as well as Sears. I think your wife would love to have a Janome. If she's not up to date with sewing machines, she may not recognize the name and think it's some kind of knock off, but it's definitely not, and it's way up there in consumer's reviews.