I'm beginning to wonder if it's a good idea to have a back up sewing machine. It happens every time I get into a project - my machine acts up and won't sew and it'd days before I can get it figured out or worked on.
Instead of just making squares and never finishing anything, I decided to make the simplest quilt I could and just sew 5" squares together. It was going great, until just now. The bobbin area keeps grabbing the thread and it isn't sewing. Grrrrrrrr :evil:

I have way more than I have room for. Trouble is, I can't find it in my heart to part with any of them. Sad, but true. I even brought another one in this Sunday. Someone broke into the old barn at the mom's old place and stole a bunch of stuff. They didn't touch the house (yet), so I went in and drug the old Pfaff 130 home from there before they steal it too. So, now I have 11 machines total.

They took a blacksmith's anvil that has been in our family since my 5 ggrandfather left Germany in 1832 for the USA. How sad is that... I have got to figure out where I can store the old Singer 3135... working on that one. It's still over and Mom's.

Sorry you are having problems with your machine. I have 2 machines that I can piece with. I bought a new sewing machine last year, a Husqvarna Sapphire 875 and I kept my other machine which was also a Husqvarna that was several years old. It is a huskystar and a great machine. I use it for doing mending and stuff like that and use my newer machine for quilting. When I have to take my machine for service at least I can still quilt. I contemplated selling it but then decided to keep it for a backup.

Having a back up machine is very nice. Sometimes I keep one set up for doing one thing and the other for quilting, and I bounce back and forth :D:D:D

I have 6 sewing machines and 2 sergers. I use them all!

I have a Janome 6500 that I use for all my sewing and quilting. When I have problems I start by cleaning the bobbin area. If that doesn't help, I put in a new bobbin, a new needle, and rethread the machine. That happened last week and when I did the above things it just started purring like a kitten and has been great ever since. I also have my mother's Singer FW but it is not in condition to be used as a backup. I have sewn for 50+ years and have never had a backup sewing machine. My Janome is just my third sewing machine I've ever had.

I have 14 sewing machines. Two treadles and one handcrank for just in case the electric ever goes off. I also have a collection of singers, a feather weight, 301, 401, 500, 99, and a 15-91. The rest I haven't made up my mind as to weather I want to keep them yet. I find it very helpful to have more than one sewing machine.

Always have a backup machine. I have several, and my favorites are a couple of vintage Featherweights. Jill says hers needs some work; those usually 'clean up real good,' as the expression goes. I use my Featherweights daily for piecing and FM quilting.

Too many to count

and way to many to list here ;)

I have a Singer that is my main stay, about 5 years old, a Kenmore from the 60's I just purchased off Craig's list because it has deco stitches not on my Singer, a Brother embroidery machine, a Bernette serger, and a BHQ: my husband says that's enough for anyone. BUT, I want a Singer like the one I learned to sew on, a black straight stitch, probably from the early '50s.
I guess that makes 5. And I have used all of them in the last month!

I have too many and not enough. I want the big one, if you can call it a sewing machien, a long arm quilting machine. Jus tover the last year dH and I bought several vintage machines and he fixed most of them to running order. I really enjoy having plenty of back up options. Nice too when you have one set up for piecing, one for binding with a walking foot and one for free motion.

I have 2 machines. One I use regularly, and the other is my first machine. I have a long-arm too.
Would love to have some old machines! FW, treadle, old Singer, etc. :)

I have the Brother Duetta...for piecing and Embroidery (only for embroidery), the Pfaff Creative Vision 5.5 for the larger Embroidery area but used mainly for pieceing...and now I am an owner of the Pfaff Grand Quilter 1200 and the Grace Frame so have lept into the Midarm/shortarm quilting arena...I have too many but not enough...but just plenty...
Kirsten

80s Kenmore that's solid, 90s Singer that's eh, my sapphire that I love, and a Husqvarna serger. Had a 60s Brother that I learned on, but got rid of it...it was just too heavy to lift on and off the dining room table.

Wow - I had no idea I'd hear up to 14!! :lol: (Born2sew - I'm sorry about that theft - that is horrible!) Well, I did get my machine working again after a lot of fiddling and cleaning and rethreading. :thumbup:
I suppose I should admit that I do technically have 3 machines - my Riccar that I use, my grandma's old machine that I used to use at her house - complete with all the cams (she willed it to me! :)) but it's up in our attic - I don't think I could run it anymore, and I have an ancient White that only goes forward and smokes if I go too fast. For a while, this was my only machine, 'til dh surprised me with my Riccar. I don't consider this one usable anymore either. But now I'm thinking about my grandmothers machine.... I wonder if there's a manual with it.... the cams just scared me off. If I ever needed anything done with them, gram took care of it for me.

I love the older Singers and have a few of them. I have 2 treadles, a 301A, 407, a Rocketeer and a couple without a brand name and a Brother Ci6000. I also bought DGD a Janome Mini-Sew for Christmas that I could use if my Janome took a fit on me.

I have two: a bernina 160, and a featherweight. I use the bernina daily; the featherweight when I travel. I would have the fw set up here at home, but don't have a spot for it in my sewing area (I resist pulling my quilting into the rest of my house). I also have a treadle, but have never used it. Using it is on my 2011 list of ToDo's.

I have 3 - a 1963 Singer Slant-O-Matic 603, a newer Singer (bought in 2007), and a Babylock Quilter's Choice Pro. The Babylock is my main machine on which I do all piecing, quilting, and miscellaneous straight stitch sewing. I use the newer Singer occasionally when I want to use decorative stitches. I don't use the older Singer very much anymore, but absolutely love it. It was the machine I learned to sew on and my Mom gave it to me when I was in college and she got a new machine.

Let me see, Brother 4000D, Viking SE, Pfaff 7570, Pfaff Serger, 4 Featherweights, 3 301's, 185K, 99K, 503 A and an old Necchi. If I counted right I have 15. And I am searching for a treadle. All of my machines work perfect.

3 Janomes - one a treadle
4 Singers - 301, 15-90, Featherweight, and Quantum
1 Brother 1500 straight stitch quilting machine
I use them all except the treadle. I use the 301 the most. Of all my machines I only bought two of them. The rest were given to me. I won the Brother doing the FabShopHop.

I just purchased my 3rd small machine today since my other 2 main ones (a Singer and a White) are both in the shop for repairs and won't be ready for at least another 3 weeks. I've been having withdrawals since I haven't been able to sew for about a month! So I have a new cheap Singer.

I also have a serger but no idea how to use it (was given to me)

I am now down to ...let me count...1 serger, 1 treadle, 1 hand crank, and 6 other sewing machines! Not too bad! I recently sold off 2 of my vintage Berninas!

Hmmmmmm..... looks like I may need to look for another! lol! Maybe I should start scouting craigslist or goodwill.

I hit the thrift stores all the time...I have found 2 Berninas there...a 930 and a 770! BOTH worked wonderfully and had ALL of their parts and manuals! I paid $40 for each one!

I have multiples, too -- 2 embroidery machines, 2 sergers (one broken), deep throat quilter, coverstitch machine, junky basic machine... Love my main Designer I, then in the middle of embroidering a quilt for nephew's wedding, my embroidery unit froze ... needless to say, the quilt had to get done! So I picked up a Singer Futura 150 just to get the embroidery done... I am addicted to embroidery, so it can be used as a backup... if my other two main sew/quilt machines go down... so I hung onto it. Use my serger all the time, as I do garments too... and a cruddy baseline White just for total emergencies... then just picked up a treadle today, cannot wait to get it up and running :) Now I really have something that will let me sew even if the power goes out! Heck, didn't they used to sew by candlelight anyway?

Use the Search feature and you will find several threads on this topic...and lots of reasons for having any number of machines. Me, I need all 8 of mine!!

Ain't that the truth, lol.

I have 5 machines. A Janome 6600, a Juki, an old 50's Bernina, a Singer 66 16, and an old Meister that was made in Germany. Don't use the Bernina right now for it needs a new belt nor do I use the Meister for I just don't need to. The Bernina is a machine my mother bought in the 50's and I done a whole lot of sewing on it.

I have two Brothers that I use only for embroidery, one Janome that I use for sewing and two sergers: one threaded in white and the other in black color.

And I would love to buy a Pfaff 1229 if I could afford it.

Too many, but can't part with any of my babies.

I have 3 sewing machines and a serger. Two of my sewing machines are Kenmores that are 2 and 7 years old. The third sewing machine is a 1970s Kenmore that I got off of Craigslist for $50 and I really only bought it for the sewing table it was in. My serger is a Brother 1034D. I have plenty of backups, don't you think?

Gosh... I have my grandmothers 1923 Singer 66 Electrified (the first electrified Singer made) and a Janome/New Home MC4000 that I bought from a school sale on Ebay years ago. Just recently bought a Babylock Evolve Serger (pre owned). So I only have the three... and I feel blessed by having them!

I have 2 and my mom has a long arm so I have access to that too. But that is it for me

i have 3 sewing machines, and one serger.

I have two.. my pfaff and my babylock for classes..

I have:
Janome 6600
Janome mc3500
Janome sew mini (this one may not count. lol)
Singer Featherweight
Singer 66 Redeye (parts missing)
Babylock serger that doesn't work

I have my Elna Quilters Pro that I use for all my quilting, a backup Janome, a Featherweight (needs some repairs) and my mother's Singer Treadle which sews perfectly but I want to preserve it so treat it like gold.

I have 4 plus an overlocker and an embellisher. They are all set - up for what I consider is each machine's best feature (I just wish I could get them all on the one machine). I have a one bedroom apartment - so consequently it is a little chockers with materials, machines and the quilting bed....perhaps I should convert that to a sleeping area...

I have a Bernina 440QE, a Juki 98,a Janome Gem for classes,a serger and as of yesterday a Janome 11000 for embroidery.

at one point I had 7. sold off two of them as I had no room to store them. gave 2 away. now I am down to my brother and my bernina. and one small serger. My friedn just gave me a bigger seger but for the life of me I cannot figure it out.