I also want to put in my vote for a vintage machine, I believe that their stitches will put to shame any new machine.

I agree that vintage machines are nifty. But if someone wants to start sewing and not go on a long quest to find a decent vintage machine that works then a newer one could be a starting place while the quest continues.

Absolutely! Get a machine with both upper and lower feed dogs. You'll never regret it. For years, Pfaff was the only brand of machine with them, now some others have top feed dogs built in (so you never need a walking foot, and top and bottom fabrics feed at the same rate. Thus, piecing points match!). I know Babylock makes some machines with top and bottom feed dogs built in, and some of the Janome machines have them as well. Not sure if there are others brands now. Just fyi, both my piecing machines have built in top feed dogs. The newer one is a Babylock and the other an older Pfaff. Once I experienced the joy of piecing with both feed dogs, there was no going back!

I bought a 9 inch throat Janome on Craigslist. It sews 1600 stitches a minute. Awesome!

I bought an old Singer 15-91 last summer and love it. The tension is forgiving, the stitches are beautiful and it is working really well for my FMQ. I'm new to sewing and bought the Singer for quilting because we were making the move to Ecuador and I wanted a machine that my husband could take care of for me. It is simple to use, runs like a champ and doesn't look like it will ever need a sewing machine repair person.

I agree with others. Skip the new Brother machines and either purchase a vintage Singer or a new Juki. I have both and they are definitely my favorites.mi also have a Husquavarna and a Brother. I use the Husquavarna for decorative or zigzag work and have not had the Brother out for a couple years. I really do not care for the Brother as I find it hard to trouble shoot when there is a problem with it.

I have several vintage Singers, and all of them have been GIVEN to me. Never paid a cent for them. I suggest you tell everyone you know that you are looking for an old machine, and I just bet Aunt Betty or Fred from down the street will tell you they found one in their Grandmother's attic. One of my dear QB friends was talking to me on the phone while she and her DH were on their way to church and saw an old machine in a front yard. Long story short, they picked it up for $5, cabinet was worth much more than that. I cleaned it up and it is in my bedroom in front of the TV. That is by far my favorite machine. My DS emailed me from work one day asking me if I wanted an old Singer portable that someone found while cleaning her Aunt's attic out. Another wonderful find. They are heavy machines but the straight stitch can't be beat. They are very easy to maintain, no dealer necessary. I love my electronic machines, but for a plain old machine, nothing beats an old Singer.

You don't have to duck, GeriB! I do everything except appliqué on my vintage singers, but also have two modern Janome machines! I think the advantage of the vintage machines is no plastic gears to break. They are all metal. The advantage to modern machines are all the decorative stitches and most are light weight.
For vintage I would recommend: singer 15-91, 201, 301, or a Featherweight (sorry, GeriB, I love mine).
For modern, I would recommend a Brother or Janome machine. I had a Brother 6000ci that was very good, but the needle always defaulted to the left and I would forget to center it when I had a straight stitch foot on. Broke a lot of needles that way, but otherwise a great little low cost machine! I think the more expensive Brothers default to the center.

Buy a machine that only does a straight stitch. The ones that can zig zag will have a slight zig if you look at them closely through a microscope. Old vintage machines are hard to beat!

I love my Singer Feather Weight for straight line piecing. My DH got mine off Ebay. I went to a FW class and I know how to take it apart, replace the belt and oil it. Just my 2 cents - Susan