I have a Kenmore bought it last year...it is really good but I wanted to upgrade (Janome) and give my daughter in-law mine which is not computerized, but a great machine to start on.

Depending on what stitches you want, either a vintage machine or a brother. If you want fancy deco stitches that the vintage machines don't have, a new brother is your best bet. The CS6000i has gotten good reviews, but I got my boys the HS2000, from a dealer, and I'm very pleased with it. No problems at all so far, easy to use, 20 sec buttonholes, and lots of fun stitches. And you have your featherweight for that perfect straight stitch.

Another place to look for a machine is www.allbrands.com. You can get a more expensive machine for your money since they almost always have machines on sale.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

We're leaning toward the Brother cs6000i right now. Of course, nowhere local has them in stock, so I'll have to have it shipped. Over a weekend. A holiday weekend. That's ok, I'm just excited.

The smart side of me says to go for the singer 401, but I'm almost positive (from the pictures) that's the kind my grandfather has and he told me I could have it the next time we go up there (it's in a table.) No telling when that will be, but I kind of want to get something 'new' this time.

I would shop and determine the model I want. I looked on Joann's website and looked at reviews. However, find your machine and model and shop it at amazons. I saved a lot by using this process.

The Brother CS6000i is a good machine, a neighbor bought one for her daughter, got a great price on Amazon so I would check there. That machine came highly recommended to me by a gentleman who quilts who purchased one for himself, then a year later purchased one for his daughter, he liked it so much.

The Brother XR-9000 is almost identical to the CS6000i, it just has a few more stitches and the warranty is slightly different.

Janome, Kenmore and Brother all share the same manufacturer so you will find there is little difference between these machines and the stitches they offer.

The Shark EuroPro Model 9110 was also produced by the same manufacturer. This machine was sold at Target around 10 years ago. It's an excellent machine, I bought one used for my classroom. I would recommend it if you come across one, they are hard to find.

You can check reviews on various sewing machines on this website:

http://sewing.patternreview.com/

I bought a Janome 6000M 26 years ago for around $1200. It works like the day I bought it and has Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiles on it. I just bought my daughter a refurbished one at the local Janome shop for $200. Don't bypass a used one that has had an overhaul!!

I just bought a Brother for 250.00 and it goes thru many layers very easy and has about 70 decorative stitches. It comes with 7 different feet and a button holer. They took my old White for a trade in too. The only thing I bought was a 1/4 inch foot with a guide on it. HS 2000 is the model. It says Runway, Limited Edition.

good luck with your search