Happy Birthday! Consumer Repots listed Kenmore (Sears brand) as a top pick not too long ago - they are incidentally made by Janome. Catch one on sale and you can get a good machine for a reasonable price. I've been sewing on one for 7 years and have been very happy with it. The last time I took it in for a "maintenance" visit, the technician told me they were really good machines with very few "issues". He also told me the machine they had the most problems with are the new Singers. Hope this helps.