I love the "hoover" function on both my viking D1 and my Bernina 570. This raises the foot automatically just a bit when you stitch. I usually put it into stop in needle down position....so when I am turning a corner....I stop stitching, the needle goes down and the foot comes up so I can turn the quilt without having to manually raise the presser foot....also wonderful when appliqueing by machine as it makes it way easier to do those curves and angles. I also loved the knee riser on my old bernia without the hoover function to turn corners with.

on my Janome and Pfaff this feature is called auto lift. It’s my favourite feature.

My new Bernina has that too. I still sometimes try to reach back for the pressor foot thingy haha. I really like it.

Yes! This is what I want also. I want to turn my machine on, and sew. I honestly don't need any bells and whistles. I like a good workhorse machine. I will admit my BFF keeps telling me "You don't know what you're missing", but maybe that's the point. I can't miss what I don't have!

A decent straight stitch
No tension issues
Well written manual
not finicky about what thread is used
Needle threader
Needle down setting
useful built- in patterns

Low bobbin warning is great!

Repairable for at least 50 years after purchase!

I'm generally optimistic, but I don't think I have that many years left.

I usually sew on my Bernina 440QE. However I also use my vintage Singer 301. The thing I miss most when using the 301 is the knee lift. The Bernina doesn't have all the bells and whistles of newer machines, but I don't miss what I've never become accustomed to.

My main machines are Bernina 770 and Juki 2010 TLQ. The threader on the Juki is junk. (but I love the machine) When I got my Bernina it had a needle threader that works every time!! I love that. Also love the large bobbins and warning when it gets low.

Needle threader.
Thread cutter.
Knee lift.
Extension table.
Sturdy, reliable, mechanical machine, no computer boards or chips that are cost-prohibitive to repair/replace.

I have all of these in my Brother 1500. I realized since I acquired it, I haven't touched my other machines, so I sold or gave away all of them except for my Pfaff, which has a buttonhole stitch (and I actually use it for buttonholes!).

A lot of people complain that the needle threader on the 1500 doesn't work, but time after time it turns out they didn't understand *how* it works and so were using it improperly.