Zyngawf

That does describe this one. From what paper work my grandmother left with it she hadn't had it serviced since 2001 and she used it a lot.

Zyngawf

How many of you have the fancier brother machines? The cheap one I have a actually like for what it is. It has a nice stitch and it works great for piecing. I had it out while the Bernina was in the shop. Its a jalopy as a Bernina is a Mercedes. When you hit a thick spot to sew it goes urngurngchug, but it sews it, just not so smooth.

Lady Diana

Go to a Janome dealer and try the 8900. It has the extra harp space, built in dual feed, 9mm wide decorative stitches, free arm for garment sewing and is a wonderful free motion machine. Price is very competitive for the features. I have a Janome 6600 and 8900..love them both.

callen

I just invested in the brand new Husqvarna Epic that does everything but pay the bills. Has a bigger bobbin, fantastic lighting system, huge embroidery arm, big harp area, on screen tablet like display which works very similar to an iPad. You can download designs right from your laptop into the machine (via iCloud), has 2 thumb drive ports & a ton of beautiful built in designs. It is very pricey though & when embroidering you need a fair amount of space to accommodate the arm. It is a bit bigger than a regular sewing machine by a few inches but when embroidering it is quite big. This machine will be my last so I chose what I felt was the best for me, IMHO. Hope this helps & let us know what you decide. As a footnote, I traded in a Bernina 820 machine that was 3 years old for the Epic & for the most part, I much prefer the Husqvarna Epic.

skaduzy

Love every Janome ! Easy to use and great sewing from least expensive to top of the line.......but check them out at a dealer.

pflum1

I don't think anyone can tell another person what brand of machine to buy, it would be like telling everyone to buy a Ford, but you like a GMC. I have a Brother, Baby Lock, Pfaff, Bernina, several Singer featherweight. Each one is different, what do I use the most??? Quilt piecing the featherweight, never been a pretty stitch as it only does straight stitches. For sewing clothes, I use the Pfaff as I like the built in walking foot. Home deco, I use the Bernina as it's a little heavier built. Brother & Baby Lock for embroidery, It's easier to get designs in the PES format.
I would question the dealer regarding a Bernina needing a lot of repairs as they hardly ever wear out. Wonder if they needed to sell a new machine and had a buyer for an older Bernina????

llong0233

I have 3 Brothers: One is mechanical with a few decorative stitches, one is the cs6000i digital and finally, the Innova 1250 with embroidery. All are very good machines. But for the perfect straight stitch, and I do mean perfect...it's the Bernina 153 Virtuoso QE for me. The stitching is very, very smooth and consistent. The fabric up-take is also consistent which I find is not always the case with all the Brothers. I used the Innovis for embroidery but I always wind up with the Bernina for piecing. I have the best chance of consistent 1/4" on that one than any of the others. If you are used to a Bernina, do yourself a favor and try out a few others before deciding. There are some wonderful machines out there today and personal preference is a big deciding factor. Good luck.

NUBQ

HI, This sewing machine review site may give you some ideas...

http://www.sewmamasew.com/2009/07/se...e-master-list/

...then again it may be just TMI..

Karenacarpe

I have two Pfaff's and love them. The first is a Tiptronic 2020 and has been a workhorse! Have had it for almost 20 yrs. My new one is also a Pfaff Performance 5.0 and is wonderful. Not cheap but what a machine. Can do your own quilting and such. Very reliable, of course I have a great dealer near me.

sewbeadit

I really like my Janome 8900, I have had Janome's for many years now. I tried out a lot of other machines that didn't feel like they fit me. Try them all out and get a good dealer, I dislike my dealer and they don't care about you after you buy their machine, which makes it hard to go back when you need something.