I had a symphony and loved it. I sold it to a friend, and she is now loving it. I sold it for $950. I then bought the Crescendo, because of the lighting on it. My eyes need all the help they can get, which is the reason I upgraded. If you get the symphony, you won't be disappointed. Good luck to you.

Have you looked at the husqvanas viking machines? I used one at class it had needle threader but the foot went. Down when you pressed the foot pedal. It also had a built in walking foot.

Hi Judy, I have a Bernina 710....knee lift, auto threader on the left side, stop/start button, speed control, needle up/down, auto thread cut, auto presser foot lift and yes....wonderful lighting for my old eyes. If you can, have a look at one, they are the bottom of the range of the 7 series which has just lately brought out some newer models so you may be able to pick a 710 up at a reasonable price. I love mine even though coming from a 30 year old Janome it proved to be a very steep learning curve!

I agree that needle-threader on some of the brother machines streamlines that process so well you could do it blind-folded and it works every time. There are some brother/babylock dealer models that have all or most of the features you want but hover bumps you up to the higher cost models. Hover (auto pivot) is nice, but if the machine has a knee-lift, you accomplish the same thing. The Juki mentioned above might work very well for you also but just a straight-stitcher...even tho it does have knee lift and auto thread cutter. Brother/Babylock tho really simplifies your threading enough that you might just want to narrow the field within that brand and if you're able to accept a knee-lift to raise/lower the presser foot, you will have many more options.

I also have the Babylock Espire. I love the needle and foot up/down, auto cutter and auto threader. The only problem I have had sewing is when sewing through a very thick area(belt loop on a robe) it kept making long stitches. Finally had to do on another machine. Next time I will reconfigure belt loop area so not so thick. Also, I don't like some of the decorative stitches on the Espire but can do them on my older Kenmore so not a problem. Other decorative stitches are good and can be used mirror image and/or resized.

Overall, the Espire is a great machine.

, a knee lifter for lifting the presser foot so you can keep both hands on your work, and one of the greatest things every put on a sewing machine, an automatic thread cutter.

I have a Janome 6500 and it has a thread cutter and knee lifter. The threader works great too even after 11 yrs of continuous use. It has the auto foot up or down. The bed is also large and flat. You can maybe have some one cut a hole in an old table and then make something so you can drop the machine in it. this might aid your need too.

I owned this machine for 11 yrs and use it daily. It is also a wonderful go to for sit down quilting. I now have a long arm but I quilted 120 in. x 120 in. quilts on this machine.

http://www.amazon.com/Janome-6500P-M...KC93097E78SXDB

It looks like your other Janome was an embroidery machine? This one is especially for quilting.

I had a Brother NX-600. Great price ($599)(All Brands), very quite, has a knee lift to lift foot. needle treader & thread cutter and speed control. It can be set to sew square (to sew on label without moving fabric. Overall a great machine.

Just thought a bit about my Bernina 710..........the needle threader takes 2 hands to operate; one to hold the lever down and the other to hold the thread in position......sorry, didn't think that one through.

If you don't need all the bells and whistles check out the Brother 1500s. Straight stitch only, knee lift, auto threader and larger throat. Tons of people have this machine on this board including me. So easy to use and maintain. It's gonna be a long time before I purchase another machine if ever because I love this one.

One of my sisters-in-law was born without a left hand. She is now in her 50s and does anything she wants except fasten the back of her pierced earrings. Fortunately, she had a younger sister so she was not pampered as the baby of the family. She was expected to deal with situations when they came up. For a long time after I got to know her, she kept her left arm covered - in her pocket, by a sweater, etc. Now she is just as normal with it as anyone else. Best wishes to you and your family with your granddaughter.