just remember, TINY is the key word when it comes to a FW..meaning it is hard to thread, change bobbin, etc, if your eyes are not what they used be or you have fingernails! I find them too small to my liking. I bought a small lightweight Janome Gem silver instead. MOre options, including FMQ, thread play, etc and I can SEE what I am doing!

I love my FW, as do so many others. I bought it because I didn't want to try to take my Bernina to classes and retreats...it's too heavy and too expensive to go lugging it around! I use it only for piecing or small quilting...quilt-as-you-go...projects. It's my backup when the Bernina is in the shop. And it's straight stitch is fantastic.

Ease of maintenance is important to me too....you can learn to maintain it on your own. There are wonderful resources available through the web. And it's very straightforward mechanically.

And, for me, it's sentimental....it makes that old-fashioned sewing machine sound and reminds me of how many women sewed on those little darlings!

I have a Bernina White Pearl to take to classes, but we just bought a FW. It's cleaned up and running and I will probably take it sometimes. I like that the White Pearl is a slightly downsized version of my Activa 640. If it needs to be in the shop I can still pop on the walking Foot and do binding with the White Pearl as well as everything else I need.

I've had my FW for years now. I got it at a garage sale for $20, and it only needed a little work, which I was able to do myself. I've only used it a couple of times, and plan to sell it at my garage sale this summer. I much prefer my modern machines. I have a nice collection of vintage machines, but I almost never sew on them.

Love my FW!! I use it all the time for piecing. To me, it is very light weight and easy to move around. I have 2 other electronic (Brother) machines that I use for FMQ, zig zag, etc. Have had my FW for about a year and just simply would not be happy without her now. She is a gem. ;-)

Have heard a lot of good thing about FW but I don't think I'd use it that much, no zig zag, hard to see small parts, My eye's aren't what they once were LOL if it is really light do you have a problem with vibration when more than one machine is working on a table, like at classes? I like a large space to move my fabric around on or rest my hands on as I feed fabric through the needle. I think most people use them mainly for classes, not enough room to quilt on, or so I have been told. I don't have a big fancy computerized machine. My old girles do everything I ask of them straight stich, and zig zag every one is a little diffrent but I have learned to get a good 1/4 seam on them all. I take my 12 year old Janome for classes, yep she is heavy but I can still lift her on and off the table with no problem. I have a rolling cart that everything fits into so it is only one trip from car to class. I also like to use the same machine from start to finish on any one quilt top.

My DH collects Antique and Vintage Singer machines. (We have a few that are not Singers) I love my Featherweight and use it constantly. You can purchase a zig zag attachment for these machines and that will allow you to do machine applique. Another asset for these machines it they are sooooooooo easy to maintain and service. I sew a lot and use the featherweight exclusively and my DH can keep this going with no problem. I have probably put approx 600 hours on this machine and it is a 1955. I can't say enough about them.

I use my FW all the time and take it to classes and retreats. Never had problems threading or seeing any of the parts and my eyesight is not so good. It threads very easily. Never a problem with it "bouncing" on the table when sharing a table with other quilters. It is my "go to" machine even at home. I just love it!
That being said, I do love to applique and have to check when taking other classes to see if a stitch other than a straight stitch is required. So I ended up also buying an inexpensive machine to take when special stitches are required. It cost about the same as a FW, but I don't think it is the type of machine that would be able to be serviced or cleaned regularly due to cost. One service call and cleaning would cost almost as much as I paid for the machine new! And it has the craziest blanket stitch that makes it harder to applique. I have had it 3 years and I am starting to have some problems with it.
My advice would be to figure out what type of quilting/sewing you love to do. If it is piecing, consider a FW. If it is applique or things that require special stitches/features, I would go for a modern machine. However, I would "test drive" the modern machine to make sure it has the stitches you want (no crazy blanket stitch) before purchase. And I would purchase the best one I could afford - one that can be serviced in the future.
Good luck - it is a tough decision. Let us know what you decide to do.

I really like my FW for traveling. I also have the table that it fits in so sometimes for straight piecing I'll switch to it when I'm home. It makes such a happy sound when it sews!! I didn't realize there was a zigzag attachment..I'm going to check that out!

To each his own. I have two FW's and have no difficulty threading or changing the bobbin etc. and my eyesight is not that great. I take mine to quilt camp, guild meetings and use it at home. I have a Janome MC6500 P which I love but it does not stitch through multiple layers of fabric like the FW's do!! They are tough little ladies and mine have several attachments that came with them too.