Totally bummed out
 

I've been scarce around here because I've been working on mug rugs. Well, yesterday my sewing machine decided it was going to die on me. Something in the bobbin is hitting the needle and hanging is up. I took it to the shop this morning, and they are going to fix it under warranty, because I just had it serviced a few months ago. Unfortunately, they also told me that parts are becoming very scarce for my machine (1976 Singer Futura II 920). It's been a reliable workhorse, and I'm sad to see this happen. She did recommend that I start looking for a new machine and keep this one on hand as a backup, since she doesn't know how much longer any parts will be available.

So, while I'm out of commission until the 20th - with a stack of 18 mug rugs and 10 stockings that I wanted to get done by Christmas - I have been given permission to research a new machine! I'm going to go to a Quilt festival in Phoenix in January where I hope to test drive several different machines to figure out which one I would like to look for, but tell me - what is your preferred machine, and why? I'm not looking for heavy embroidery work, but I do want a big enough throat to handle at the least queen sized quilts, a variety of quilting stitches, fmq abilities (probably all of them?) and low maintenance. Thanks!

I like my janome 6600.

Me, too. I use it for everything you listed.

I use Bernina, and I've had her for 4 years, and she is a work horse. She never gives up, and just keeps going and going. I haven't had the machine serviced for over a year, which reminds me, and I haven't had any problems. I oil it every day, and clean out the lint too. It's a Bernina Aurora 430. I don't have the embroidry unit for it, and I wish I did. I would use it all the time. I sew everyday. If I don't sew, I crochet, or work Soduko. lol Good luck finding a machine. Look at all of them. If you go on Ebay, you won't find any Bernina's for sale. You may find the little berninette or what ever it is.

I have a Viking 875 quilt sapphire. I bought it especially for the big throat, but now I am in love with the auto thread cut and knot feature when you begin and end a line of quilting. Stitches are straight, my only complaint is I think it is noisy and has more vibration than my Janome 10000, but it cost a lot more than the Viking. I haven't done any fmq yet. Search online to find Viking875 sapphire groups, it will give you a good idea on what to "drive" when you are doing a test drive. Good luck with your machine search, so sorry about the Futura, I loved my old Singer but a lightning storm took out it out of commission in 2001, I got it in 1980 and it performed perfectly for 21 years.

I have one of the big Vikings, a Bernina and a Janome 6600...and I love them all! You just about can't go wrong with any of those brands, but do try them so you'll be happy with whatever you select.

Definitely a Viking Sapphire!!!!! love Vikings and the they never let you down

I have a Viking Sapphire and a Janone 6600, both are wonderful machines and do all the things you listed. I would have a hard time choosing between them.

Janome 6600, because it does everything you just asked for.

I have a Viking , love it ! I would advise you to narrow the search to a few brands and models, then closely compare warrenty. Sometimes we get so caught up in a particular machine and don't do a diligent comparison on the warrenty .

I love my Bernina 1008, my first Bernina was back in 1968, it was a 730. I litterly wore it out. It never needed much servicing. It outlasted it's garantee. Even my serger is by Bernina, that too I can't live without.

I vote for a Bernina as well I got mine a few months back and absolutely love it, I think they've got a promotion on too where you get a box of FQ's with a purchase I don't know if it's only one type or not. I'd definitely test drive a couple of different machines though I did at the Quilt show in VT this past summer. Good luck on your hunt for the new machine let us know which one you get.

What is your price range? That makes a huge difference in terms of which machines I would suggest trying out. I love my Bernina 1230, but new Bernina's are out of the price range of most people.

On a different note, must say I am way past that "permission" thing.

My sympathy on your favourite machine feeling ill. It always happen in the middle of a big project or when you have a deadline. I personally love my Bernina 440 QE but there lots of good machines to choose from. Make yourself a list of features you really want for January and shop around untill you get most of your "must have" features. Some of mine were: needle down button for applique, good buttonhole stitch, nice amount of other stitches, walking foot, BSR for FMQ, good lighting (halogen perferred), solid construction (all metal parts), good warranty and LQS support...

If you want reasonable prices....Kenmore machines are good machines; but Janomes are even better. I love mine and recommend the 7700 for throat space which is 11" and FMQ ability. I just took a free motion class and didn't even have to adjust the stitches...perfect both front and back. It was amazing!!

Well I love my Bernina, and she embroideries. But she was priced high for sure. I've had her for 9 years.

I have the new Bernina 830. I love everything about her. But especially the large harp size. Good luck.

I feel your pain. My baby went to the doctor today. She was being really bad and forcing me to say things to her that surely put me on the naughty list!! My dealer, after some prodding, let me borrow a machine.

I LOVE my Janome 6600, it is truly a dream machine!!! Just quilted a denim quilt on a Pennywinkle frame, and then took it off the frame to attach binding and finish 30 more table mats or mini table runners!!! I love her!!! have made two LARGE bean Bag chairs in the last month out of a heavy canvas camo material and did french seams never missed a lick!!! or sounds stressed (unlike the machines operator!!)

I think, if I was you I would be looking at Craigslist and getting a cheap back up machine. I have found some great machines there for crazy cheap prices. Just something to get you through.

I have a Pfaff expession 2.0 and love it. It has a 9.5 throat and a built in even feed foot. Happy shopping!!

I have a Viking and have been very happy with it so far. Haven't found anything I can't do with it.

Sorry to hear that your machine is on its last legs...bummer!
I'm a bit perplexed...you had to ask for permission to research a new machine??? I'm sorry to hear that, too!
Good luck in your search!

The Janome 6600 is a great machine with the Acufeed and everything, it just doesn't have a freearm, you can get the Horizon 7700 with the freearm and the Acufeed for about the same price as a new 6600 if you look in the right place. I've seen both in the Northeast for about $1,500 to $2,000.

New sewingmachine for AZTeri
 

To AZTeri
I have a bernina activa 240 and I just love it. It is a work horse. Never a bit of a problem, never jams, perfect machine. I too do coasters and heavy things like rugs, coats etc and this machine never faulters. It goes over the biggest clumps of fabric like the wind. This is the best machine I have ever had. .

Please people - permission only means that I asked my dh if it was ok that I start really looking now. He handles the finances in our house and we NEVER make big financial decisions without the other one being on board. Plus, he's the type that looks at every angle, does a lot of research on not only prices but reads all the negative and positive reviews. WE never make a decision that involves a substantial sum of money without doing that. That includes his recent purchase of a 55" flatscreen TV. If I had said that I didn't think it was a good idea, he wouldn't have gotten it! Sheesh.

As far as the other advice, I hadn't looked at Janomes yet. I've looked at Bernina and Viking though and am impressed with both of them. My budget will be in the neighborhood of $1000 or so. I am looking forward to testing several of them out at the show in January though.

Enjoy the trip, I know you'll enjoy it.

First, have your budgetary needs firmly in place.
Then test drive a variety of machines within your budget.
Know the features you need vs want. Fancy stitches are fine, but will you really use them all? Need vs Want.

Which machine do you bond with the most. Which machine can you intuitively work with to your advantage. Which machine can you work with and have an interruption and yet still go back to sewing without any difficulties. Which machine can you visually work with the best. [I remember the old Bernina's with the knobs, I wouldn't have been able to select the correct stitch with my kids around!]

Check for financing if that appeals to you. Know you can pay it off early and most financing plans are no interest for quite a while.

See if you can make a deal on a show machine. They usually offer great deals.

Me: I have a Pfaff. It fits the way I think and work. I also know of a great machine repair person here in the Valley who I make an appointment with and get same day service!

Hope you can bring friends up with you for the Rusty Barn event. PM me and maybe we can meet, though I have a class elsewhere that Thursday.

ali

I had a 40 year old Bernina until recently and I loved it. Now I have Janome and I love it more. I always think that the best thing to do is go to shops where you can try out the sewing machines. That way you can find out if the controls are easy to use, how comfortable it is, how easy it is to change feet or change stitch or whatever. Good luck.

If your budget is about $1000, and you want a really great machine, take a look at the Janome 6500. It was discontinued when the Janome 6600 came out, but it is very close in features to the 6600, has almost as many stitches (more than I'll ever use!), and it has been said it is destined to become one of those classic models. It doesn't come with a built in walking foot, but you can put one on. It still has the pedal drive, but I've used those for so long, I'm not sure I want to use a button. They won't sell them in the shops because they are so close to the 6600 in features, and lower in prices, that they can't take the competition. So they're selling them in places like eBay and Amazon. They do come with a warrenty. If you test drive a 6600, that's pretty much what a 6500 is like. They do have the 9" throat, which is larger than most machines, and can handle some pretty good sized quilts. And they are really quality machines.

Now here's the thing with the price. For the longest time, you could buy them for $1,199 --- anywhere. Seemed to be a fixed price, unless you went to the Company web site, where they were priced higher. I was just about to buy one when -- Wow! -- just before Thanksgiving, the price went up to $1,499! Figured it was the pre-Christmas mark up. Doesn't make sense when you could get a brand new 6600 in the shop for a list price of $2,300, and a "haggle price" of $1,800!! So I decided to sit back and wait until the after Christmas sales, and see what happened. Believe me, the machines weren't selling at $1,199. One eBay shop had 900 models to sell, and last I checked, it still had 898 models to sell, and that was over a 4 month period of time. Nobody is going for the higher price. It defies common sense as to why they put the price up! Not selling so raise the price? Doesn't make good marketing sense to me, especially in this economy. So I'm thinking the price is going to drop way down after Christmas. There's only so long they can hang on to merchandise that isn't selling. So we'll see. Anyway, it would be a great machine at a great price if the price comes down closer to $1000 or less. And oh, yes. On eBay, they were also offering free shipping, no small point. But do try out the 6600 Janome first, so you get a feel for what those machines are like.

Just a suggestion. Merry Christmas!

I too have the Bernina 830. I love the throat size. It's very large. I have the embroidery but don't know how to use it. I get classes from the store I bought my machine from. We haven't gotten to the embroidery part yet. There is so much to learn with this machine. I love everything about it. I just wish my dealer lived closer than 2 hours away.:shock:

This statement is not true.

I have a Bernina 1530 from 1992 and it's a great machine. I regularly look on ebay for Bernina's and sometimes there are 1530's and 1630's on there in very nice condition. If they have a lot of feet and accessories, they will bid upwards to $800.00. There are some older vintage Bernina's on there as well, the Record 830, etc. I only mentioned the 1530 and 1630 because I'm more familiar with that model. Enjoy your search.

Love my babylock espire(now symphony) sews so beautiful, can't imagine owning anything else except maybe a long arm

I have an old singer (garage sale), my Bernina 830 (bought new in '75) and my "baby" Janome6600. They are all workhorses. Bought the new one couple years ago when we had no nearby service for the Bernina, and found out parts are no longer available, so she moved to "back up" and portable status. I have loved the features on the Janome: foot down, thread cutter, fairly big harp, and QUIET! I didn't know the noise I had been putting up with until I sewed a while on her!

Another consideration is proximity to dealer service- I love knowing I can run up and get questions answered and service without driving to Timbucktoo. (I watched my neighbor go thru that mess with a lemon of a machine, and got smart watching her!)

I have the Bernina 830(amazing workhorse) and a Bernina 440QE. Love both--harp on 440QE made bigger. It does all
you asked. Good luck.

I have an older viking that works well, but silly me recently purchased a babylock ellure plus(a very weak moment) and in all sincerity, I like the viking better...the viking is heavier, more room at the throat area, not only for fabric but for my fingers to get to the feet for changes, etc. Altho it does not have the "latest" tricks, like auto threading(which is quite a tricky thing on babylock)I still like it better and if I could do it again, I would have looked at a newer viking......live and learn....have you tried ebay?????I am sure everyone loves whatever brand they have so like so many things in life sometimes it is a toss of the dice......

Can't speak for any other make but I own 3 Janomes. As others have said the 6600 has everything you mention. I bought it for the throat space. Test driving is a good thing to do. Have fun.

I'm with you. I never spend a large amount of money without discussing it with DH and he doesn't without discussing it with me. Our is an almost 41 year marriage (we were babies, just 18) and it has lasted because we respect one another on every level. I will say DH once told me I COULDN'T by an Elna Press. It took 3 weeks to get it ordered but I brought it home. He said, "I thought I said you couldn't have it." I said, "Yes, you did. You didn't say we can't afford it. You didn't say you'd rather I not buy it just now. You told me I COULDN'T have it." His reply, "Big mistake. Point taken." And, we've never had that misunderstanding again!

My Hubbie came home from a shopping trip earlier this month and told me he was getting me the sewing machine I have been longing for. Well it arrived yesterday!!!!! My local fabric store delivered it and set it up in its new table and I played til midnight.Its the Janome update of the 6600p and it is an absolute joy I think it has a purring function or maybe that was me.What a christmas present.

Me too, my Janome 6600 is a great reliable workhorse of a machine. Love it!