Adding in my greetings and my opinion.

I've used vintage machines older than I am for the last 30 years or so. Recently I was gifted with a friend's modern Bernina, mostly because I have vision issues and it is a self threader and my friend is wonderful... but I love the thread cutter so much! I recently worked on a project with partial seams, a breeze with the thread cutter. And as an added benefit I could tell that I had a lot less thread stuck on me afterwards instead of looking like a walking thread ball.

I also like the knee lift bar to raise the foot up and down, my friend never used it but I have already adapted to where all of this is on automatic.

I find it difficult to use a machine without the knee lifter

The auto thread cutter saves a lot of thread. I won't buy a machine unless it has one. I have the Eversewn Sparrow 30 about $400 and it sews as nice as my older Bernina has more updated features. The Sparrow 30 had become my go to machine and I have Brother, Bernina, Janome, and Singer.

Welcome from western NY and happy quilting :)

I love the thread cutter when paper piecing, but otherwise I don't use it. My Babylock Serenade leaves thread tails between a quarter and a half inch long. They are just long enough to make a little snarl when you start stitching again. It's on the back, not visible, but it still bugs me, I just don't like that little snarl. And occasionally the top thread immediately unthreads itself past the needle when I start stitching again after using the thread cutter, and I have to rethread the top thread, pull it out to a long length and hold it anyway when I start stitching. :mad: And that really bugs me. In the end, the thread cutter doesn't thrill me the way I thought it would. Only use it for paper piecing--then it's great.

I'm another that loved the thread cutter for paper piecing but didn't use it much otherwise. Though I'd hate to not have one with my embroidery machine!

I just went to a fully mechanical industrial straight stitcher for piecing - no needle threader or thread cutter, but it does have a knee lift.

A good tech/repairman can adjust the thread cutter tail lengths and the pull that unthreads the needle. I had to have my Brother's thread cutter adjusted and it works fine now.

Yes, a good thread cuttet on a machine is priceless. Buy the best machine you can afford now. You will never regret it. But rather, you will be thankful for years.

Needle threader, thread cutter and best the knee lifter of the presser foot. Yes!

I have it on both my machines and love it. Once you get used to sewing with one, it will feel really awkward and time consuming to go back to the old way.