my first 'fancy' sewing machine was a Janome New Home memory craft 4000. Much to my DH disgust, I preferred to sew on my singer treadle and my featherweight 221! Now, I have a Singer 301, my 221, and a Bernina 430 on lay-a-way until August, but my daughter now owns my Janome. I think that it is 15 years old, and still going strong. She sews mostly clothes and it works great for her. It has a narrow-ish throat space and I wanted something wider so that I can FMQ.