mustangquilts

I have a Brother for piecing and applique, my Janome is for machine quilting only, and I have an old slant needle singer for back up.

Dianemarie

LOL - yes actually I have 5 machines - only because that is the way life goes. I have my first Singer from the 8th grade; which I sewed on til I received a Bernina as a gift. I bought my grandma a featherweight so she could lift it and then she gave it back. Then there is the serger someone didn't want a gave to me. Then a gift from my Aunt when she quit sewing was her Bernina embroidery machine. Which one do I sew on - that would be the Bernina. I just love that machine. And I still love the first singer and then I will use the featherweight to do small projects just because I love the little darling; and it brings me some nostalgia feelings.

cindypierce

Have you ever HAD to get something finished and your machine broke? I have. Thats why I bought a Kenmore on line at Sears and paid next day delivery. The project was finished well but the Singer was toast! And it took my repair shop a month to tell me although I called every day. I was handed a box of parts and told "So sorry can't fix" I don't go there now. Sears has a good warenty and service plan. and I was in huge hurry and can't drive.
So now I try to not have less than 2. I currently have four as my adopted Granny gave me her two antique singers. the Cinderella singer is FAST. I do chain and strip piecing on her. The second is a sew-master and with the large opening I am learning FMQ on him. For pricision piecing and fancy stitches I use the Kenmore. I can't seem to get the kenmore to do FMQ but still trying. cinderella will do FMQ but it's half size. Not much room in the( is it called a harp) opening.

cindypierce

Oh and its easier to leave it set up for FMQ than to set it and test and adjust and retest until it looks right.
and then there are the emergency repairs. My 17 year old nephew ripped the seat out of his dress pants on the way to pick up a date somewhere and it turned out to be faster for me to fix than to go all the way home and find another pair. He's a jeans or camo person and doesn't have many slacks.
I wouldn't have mattered WHAT I was doing but it was nice to just turn Cinderella on test and sew. this is a luxury that love!

Caroline S

Why do I have more than one sewing machine? Well, let me count the ways.

One is set up for piecing with a 1/4" foot, Singer 306M, vintage and set up to be treadled
One is set up for small quilting projects with walking foot, Elna 7300
One is set up for set up for straight stitch and zig zag projects, Belair Super Zig Zag model 929, vintage
One is used for decorative stitches, Elna SU Air Electronic, vintage.
One is a quilting machine, HQ Sweet Sixteen

I hate changing presser feet for every new project.
I can service the vintage sewing machines myself
There is always a back up sewing machine to use

Wintersewer

I have about 20, many of them are older and OLD (1894 Singer). I almost always use my new Bernina 530 and my Janome 6600. I'm coming to realize that I should get rid of most and only keep 4-6. Anyone in central/upstate NY or Boston MA interested in some nice working older machines please PM me. I have Singer, 403,404,237,66, Kenmore computerized, Janome 6500...and probably some others.

nstitches4u

I use my BablyLock Ellisimo Gold for embroidery and fancy stitches, Janome 6600P for piecing and FMQ, Husquevarna Viking 870 Quilt for piecing and FMQ, BabyLock 3640 QDC (I think that is the number---she is in the shop for her annual checkup.) for taking to classes and retreats, Featherweight 221 just because she is so cute!, Singer Featherweight II and Janome Mini (belonged to my deceased adopted sister), my Baby Brother CS80 (has the neatest thread cassette that automatically threads the machine when you push it down---bought it because it was just too cute to pass up! lol), BabyLock Eclipse serger (20 years old and still humming), BabyLock Evolve 8 Thread serger (for decorative serging), BabyLock Sashiko (Hand quilting look done by machine.), BabyLock Blind Hemmer (Everyone in my family is "vertically challenged" so I have to shorten all clothing.), antique treadle like the one grandma had---DH bought it for me for Valentine's day about 10 years ago after I said, " That's just like the one Grandma taught me to sew on!"), Singer 15-91 (Just because I love the old gear-driven machines.), BabyLock Enterprise 10 needle embroidery machine (This one is actually DH's machine. He is my design digitzer and he tests designs and does all the baseball caps because my arthritis makes it hard for me to hoop the caps. We have a home-based machine embroidery business.)

I was looking at the BabyLock Tiara sit-down quilting machine, but DH said he thought I should get the Crown Jewel long arm instead. I would never argue with him! lol So we are in the process of moving the guest room downstairs to our 4th bedroom and moving my sewing center into the old guest room to make room for the Crown Jewel in my current sewing room---It is the only room big enough---DH decided I couldn't get rid of the sofa and put it in the great room. lol

I have also given 4 machine away to good homes. Sewing and quilting are meant to be shared.

Hensandchickens

I have several machines. Most were such good deals that I can't manage to part with them. I have a 1896 White treadle ($20 yard sale) that will come in very handy for the Zombie Apocalypse, plus it's in a beautiful cabinet and I use it as a piece of furniture. Next is my Viking Lily that I use for everything. My husband bought that new for me when my other Viking died in the middle of Halloween costume making about 10 years ago. The dead Viking (bought at an auction for around $75) was the first computerized model and I was told it would cost a more for the parts than buying a new machine. Then I bought another Viking at another auction for under $100. It is a basic machine, nothing computerized, sews great and if my daughter ever moves out and needs a machine she can have it. It's a great back-up machine. Next is a Bernina Serger that I bought at a pawn shop for $80. It's great for costume sewing (my son's really into drama). Then my best deal ever was found this past fall at another auction. I got a Bernina 930 Record for $5.00! It works great, but doesn't have any extra feet or the cover. I haven't really used it, but it's here for another back up or if my son starts sewing costumes. Lastly my husband was at an auction with no cell phone reception. He didn't have any idea what a Viking Designer 1 would go for, so he bid up to $300 and another lady got it. He said it had all kinds of hoops, attachments, etc. He was able to get a serger for $35. It's some cheap model from JoAnn's and I can't get it to work. To be honest I haven't tried very hard, because my Bernina Serger is so nice that I don't need another. It was a nice thought, he said he knew my Bernina only had three threads and the one he bought had four. Now I'm trying to justify buying a new Bernina. I really want the stitch regulator and then when the sales lady showed me some embroidery features I could incorporate into a quilt I was sold. So, that's why I have more than one machine.

quiltingshorttimer

Wait--you mean those suckers just don't breed in my sewing room?? Until I got back into sewing about 4 years ago, I always assumed you only needed one machine--so my old Deluxe that I'd had for 25 years was it. Then I bought my daugher a Wally Mart Brother cheapy and loved how lightweight it was--so before my second quilt lesson I picked myself up one, too. In the meantime, my Mom decided the heavy duty Kenmore from the late 80's that she was using was way too heavy for her to get to repair shop--so she bought a lightweight Singer about 4 years ago. I inherited that at Christmas due to her passing--and plan to use my inheritance $$ to buy a long arm machine and frame cause she would have loved me spending the money on something that we shared an interest--plus with retirement around the bend, I know I'll be quilting even more.

Two years ago I also got a deal on an Elna Quilt Pro Queen (comparable to the Janome 6600 and made by the same co)--love all the computerized features and do most of my sewing on it. The lightweight Singer I got from my Mom is what I drag to classes now, the Wally Mart Brother is waiting for a DIL to take some sewing lessons (but not from me!!) and she'll get that. My son (who does know how to sew) got my Mom's old Kenmore complete with cams cause he's a mechanic and can deal with it's temperament, my daughter is "storing" my old Deluxe at my house, and I also bought my son's old reliable Conover upholstery machine about a year ago--plan to re-do the interior of one of our vintage cars some day. So guess that means one purchase planned; 3 machines (that are very different) I own/use; and 2 that I store for DD and DIL. If they do breed I could be in trouble!

pollyjvan9

I have two machine I use all the time. The Juki 98TQ for piecing and free motion quilting. A Baby Lock Ellegante Embroidery Machine which I use mainly for the different character stitches, etc. I also have a serger, an embellisher, and two older machines I haven't had out of the cases in years. One I usually take to the lake.