I'm so aggravated :x I ordered a singer sewing machine from HSN (The Professional Handpicked by Martha Stewart) on Dec. 13 and yesterday Dec. 29 while sewing my thread kept braking, and breaking, and breaking, then finally the bobbin got tangled. I slid the cover to the bobbin back and started untangling the thread (non forcefully, just as normal) and the bobbin case just popped right out.... After about an hour and a half of trying to put it back in and reading the manual I gave up. I tried again today and even talked to singer, thought maybe it was something I was doing wrong........ Called HSN to return it, they were very nice and very helpful. First I just wanted to exchange it for another but after hanging up I read the reviews, and apparently this machine has lots of bobbin and thread tension problems. The overall rating was a 4.0 which is what I noticed when ordering. Needless to say, I called back and told them I would just like to have a refund, and again they were very helpful. The part that aggravates me the most is that I really liked the machine :cry:
LESSON LEARNED: Read the customer reviews on HSN

Thanks for letting me vent. I know the frustration with this dilema is something only my fellow quilting friends could truly understand. lol

Angela, I've heard nothing but horror stories about new Singers. They were bought out and are not made like the old ones (which I absolutely love)
Glad you got your money back. I can just picture Martha sewing on one lol :D:D:D
She is talented for sure but so annoying! HA

I love the old singers as well. My mom's old singer machine lived to be 25 years old. Totally agree with you about Martha. I should have mentioned it was the machine that caught my attention, not Martha. :)

Singers aren't what they used to be.
I think Martha Stewart puts her name on products for the money paid her.

Martha lost all credibility in my mind the time I saw her trying to use a hand saw on a project. She crossed her arms so she could use the saw in her right hand to saw on the outer side of her left hand. Just think a sec to picture that.
I decided she'd never done anything like that before.

Martha lost all credibility to me when she went to jail for such a stupid reason.

That part about the machine didn't impress me one bit. I included that to let everyone know which one it was. I thought it would be easier then putting a number :)

Yeah, I didn't think Martha had anything to do with your decision but I couldn't get the image of her sewing on a not well made machine out of my head hahahaha
Like I said- she annoys me! HA

I'm sorry the machine wasn't at all what you wanted. I hope you find another that works much better.

I was a Singer fanatic until I bought a Futura embroidery machine (also on HSN)

Darn thing needed a new bobbin case with only a couple of dozen designs completed. :( I was so disappointed.

I sent it in once for repair while it was under warranty, but it sure isn't fun to use it any more. Thread and stabilizers and designs and fabrics are expensive enough without adding a $45 bobbin case to the operating expenses for every 20-30 designs!

It would take a LOT to convince me to buy a new Singer. I have 20-some-odd vintage Singers, but any new machines I buy will be Brothers.

so sorry

My friend has 3 brand new Singers (bought at different times) and not one is worth setting up. They are useless and more trouble than enough. She is so fed up with them that she stores them in a closet and never takes them out. I wouldn't have one if someone gave it to me.
p.s. I never did like Martha Stewart, NOBODY knows everything about everything.

I am sorry...
I won't buy a new Singer.

The thing about her jail time is they never proved she did anything wrong. They just sent her up the river because they said she lied. Um. Well, I can think of some pretty powerful people who lied about bigger things under oath and had nothing done to them at all. Martha was framed! LOL! And yes, she gets the bucks for endorsing something even if it is a piece of junk. My old Singer (circa 1996) gave me nothing but grief. I had to take it in to get the bobbin case put back in every time I sewed anything on it. So when I wanted a better machine, DH said, "But you hardly ever sew on the one you have." Well duh. It cost me $60 to have it serviced every time I did!

I don't really like to watch her either, and it has nothing to do with her jail time!!!

I had ordered a Singer from HSN because the price was right and the features were great. The reviews on HSN were mixed and the comments I got from QB members were positive. Because HSN has a great return policy, I took the risk. Well - the darn machine ran like a tank and the quality was not what I had hoped for. I sent her back. I suspect that the machines used for demonstrations in the HSN show are tweaked to meet the guest sewer's needs. So I would not necessarily bash Martha or the other gal, but I totally agree that we need to do our homework.

Just as an aside: Viking, Singer, and Pfaff are now being managed bu a holding company VSP. Nough said on that subject.

Time will tell what happens with VSP. We just don't know.

Well, it's a sad situation for sewists everywhere. More than one company with a decades-long history of quality, reliability, and innovation have deteriorated to selling barely functionally junk by exploiting the reputation previously built. How long does it take us to wise up? And there's always someone with a perfectly functioning modern Singer. So they CAN make a decent machine, they just don't bother to be consistent about it. It's not where machines are made either. Perfectly reliable and fabulous machines come out of Asian factories by the millions. It's the corporate ethics that say, it's ok if some of what we sell is junk, as long as we keep selling. Blame the sewist for any problems. Don't give refunds. It's acceptable to have our customers spending thousands and have a machine in shop several times in the first year. Used to be that companies replaced lemons b/c they didn't want junk ruining their reputation.

I won't be buying any machine, but if I did it would be a Janome.