I always turn it off, place needle down and pressure foot down....safety first, no matter what is going on.

I don't know what is best for the machine but with children in the house, I'd shut if off for safety's sake. Kids are just too darn curious for their own good sometimes.

same here.... and on most machines a little safety trick if children or animals are in the house is to move the bobbin winder to winding position as that inactivates the needle...this is good to do if walking across the room to press a seam, just be sure to move it back before you try to sew or the needle will not move.

I will try to take "breaks" of 15 mins. or so; to conserve on the light, only because I do a lot of pressing. But when sewing, I will not sew on my machine more than an hour.
CruisingStef

I will try to take "breaks" of 15 mins. or so; to conserve on the light, only because I do a lot of pressing. But when sewing, I will not sew on my machine more than an hour.
CruisingStef

My habit for years is to turn it off each time I leave it, other than for ironing.

i turn everything off when i step away - not because i think its best for the machine or iron but because it was drilled into my head as a child not to waste electricity.

i guess my parents were "green" before it was cool.

I don't think it matters as sewing machines are like computers, in fact the newer machines have PC boards and sewing boards installed I live in FL and during rainy season, when the thunderstorms are daily and unexpected, I always unplug my machine.

Great habit, I do that as well.

I for one, actually turn mine off at the power strip. I live in the country and our area if pron to power surges, so I can't take chance of frying my machine.