Hallaleujah! Sweet music to my ears! Thank you ladies - that is exactly what I needed to hear. I feel like Charlie Brown...... "It really IS a nice little sewing machine."

I love my little Brother sewing machine. haven't used all of the fancy stitches yet but have made some nice quilts, place mats, etc. for family and friends who love them. I do wish it had a bigger throat space as I'm trying to learn FMQ, but all in all, my Brother machine is just right for my needs.

My youngest machine is a 1974 Singer, and I am totally happy with what I have.

Does your machine do all that you need it to do? If so, have fun and don't worry what anyone else thinks :-)

I have a friend who teaches quilting classes and who gets very frustrated with the ladies who show up with TOL machines that they can't even thread! She is there to teach her technique, not basic machine operation. A lot of the time she isn't familiar with the machines in question because she is a Bernina user herself.

I have a 1961 Singer 503a.....it is my dream machine! I had a Kenmore embroidery machine..In the 12 years I had it I never embroidered! I mean I did do a couple of initials but no way have I ever had $ to spend on those $$$$ cards it took. Plus it would NOT fmq. Then the computer started going wacky. Some days it would sew and others it wouldn't. That was a top of the line Kenmore when we bought it. Now it did sew LOTS of flannel diapers and some clothing. But 12 years only? I absolutely love the 503! It does all the fancy stitches I need and it does beautifully on fmq! I never have to worry about a computer going out on me either. I can service it and oil it myself. Its made good and will last me the rest of my life. So now if I can get a case for it and I ever need a machine to take to a class I will proudly take my 503a!

those who take a fancy machine to class are just showing off....any machine that sews a straight line is good enough!

kwiltamomma,

Your lawn quilt is beautiful! I haven't seen my lawn in months under all the snow.
Quilter 68

I went to a quilt retreat with an old Singer that had a broken lever that raised the presser foot. The only way to raise the lever was to take off the end of the machine that conceals the light bulb. It looked like a jalopy in a room filled with Cadillacs. Some of those machines costs thousands.

Guess what? It isn't the machine that really makes the difference. Expensive or not it is still the sewer/quilter that makes everything work. If our great-grandmothers could work with some of those ancient machines, we can do well with whatever machine we have as long as it is in good repair.

Featherweights prove it to us all.

Enjoy and that is enough.

ali

Dont worry. Nobodyelse cares. The smaller machines are nice to take to classes.