d'sm-- i have the brother se400. right now i'm using it while waiting to take my big brother in for his yearly check up. he does a good job of piecing and stretch stitch. i haven't used it for embroidery because i have the brother 7050 which does only embroidery ( and i don't know how to do it, but i will!! someday...) anyway, i am really happy with my brothers. i have the gray singer heavy duty and i could only make it do straight lines (coulda been me, it was early in the game.) it's a work horse but not much to write home about. i'll be making some drapes for my bedroom and i plan to use that machine. be sure to get the se400 at a store that services them. i've heard the big box version is all spaghetti inside, and like cadbury eggs, when they're gone, they're gone. on the other hand, i have 3 fw's and 2 are working great, the 3rd one is packed away someplace safe(?).....(shrug). last time i used it, it was super. that's my input. just thought you would like to know.

Can I join too please! I have a serious affection for fabric! And vintage sewing machines!! I've been trying to use from my stash but just recently I found the section in my favorite thrift store where they hide fabric - hanging on hangers sometimes for a dollar or two. Then 40 to 70 percent off depending on the day and the color of the sticker. I am in deep do do for sure. Lol

There's as reason, no many reasons, why you haven't heard from me lately. Oh, the fabric I've bought, rescued, hoarded, stashed, adopted, stored, etc. What makes it worse is that it's summer and I don't sew as much in the summer, so the fabric-in versus fabric-out calculation has become heavily swayed to one side. Well, it made me happy - so I'm going to get up, put on my big girl panties and face the world with a smile on my face. There, I'm NOT sorry!

Thank you for the input ladies. I've been talking to everyone I could get my hands on about this, and reading all the reviews and comments on them that I could find. There's a lot of comments all over saying Singer isn't what it used to be. The upside is that it's still got a metal chassis, where a lot of brands are now plastic. In the past, I never would have imagined considering buying anything Brother again. I've had a few Brother printers in my time, both for personal and professional use, and usually wanted to throw them out the window in the path of a speeding train.

There is a Brother dealer locally, but I'm not sure if I can make myself buy from him. It's the shop where I get my machine repaired, and it doesn't matter what you go in there for, including my trip to buy buttons I needed to match some the man lost off his sport coat, they try to force an embroidery machine down your throat every time you walk in the door. They aren't in the quilting business at all, and don't carry enough quilting materials to say so. The next closest is 40 miles away, just across the Georgia line, not too far from my best friend's house. Apparently there's a Husqvarna dealer here too that I didn't know about until yesterday. I may have to check their machines out in person too. My old Kenmore & I have been many miles together over the last 22 years.

I've not started looking yet. I asked her to find out which of the wall decals they were buying first, since the set she showed me comes in 11 variations. If she's doing the pastels, I thought I might do better to go with the pastel background animal prints, but if she's going with the bold colors, I'll stick to the traditional ones. I have a Keepsake catalog, but intentionally haven't cracked it yet, trying to behave. I'll likely make a trip to Joann (45 min away) & see what they have first, since it's about time for my quarterly trip to that area anyway. I rarely buy fabric online. I'm one of those who likes to touch it first so I know what I'm getting, unless it's a print I have to have. I will be making a car seat quilt out of leftovers of a jelly roll of Moda "Jungle Bungle" for her too. I know where to go if I can't find what I want though! I live in a quilting wasteland. The nearest LQS went out of business after first of the year when the owners retired, and that was 40 miles away, in the opposite direction of the Brother dealer mentioned above. It's a Husqvarna dealer now.

In my neighborhood, during the growing season, you will find bags of zucchini and other produce anonymously left on your doorstep. Yesterday, I opened the door to find 3 bags of fabric! I was able to track down the 'culprit', who was getting ready to paint and was doing some cleaning. The bags had lots of different fabric types. I sorted it and will keep about half of one bag and donate the rest. So my perfect record so far for July has been broken, but it wasn't my fault!!

Hey - that's an idea ......ring the bell and run!

paulswalia-- now that you have your big girl panties on, it might be a good idea to put on your big girl bra before you decide to drop anything and run! just sayin'....

does this moratorium say we can acquire fabric by any means? it's not our fault if somebody does a drive-by cloth-ing!!
i would really like it if someone would do a drive-by shoe-ting at my house, size 9 medium. pm me for the address! lol

I say that you have no control over a drive by. What's a girl to do--leave the fabric homeless- how unkind!! Maybe I'm wrong, but I figure if you don't pay for it, it doesn't count. Isn't the purpose of this to save money?

Not for me. Of course I need to save money (diminishing limited income), but the purpose for me is regain the use my house. I not only need to not bring any in, but purge several rooms. More fabric than I'll ever use has become clutter. But which of my pretties to give away??? I live by 'I might need it someday.'

d'sm-- husqvarna viking is a quality product! i had mine for many years before someone stole it. they didn't get the footpedal! i went with top of the line kenmore and loved it for 23 or4 years. i think it just needs a thorough cleaning to get it going again, but i have enough other machines i'm in no hurry!! it would be funny if we had the same one.
the only fabric i have bought is in the form of pre-made clothing. i am going to texas in a few weeks and i always like to get new clothes. and i go with a color plan which allows me to go with just a carry-on for a month or more. this trip's color is coral.