DOTTYMO

There are sometimes good machines at second hand shops or boots sales. Craig list ebay etc. I have just purchased a hand crank 1920 machine for £10 from ebay. I didn't want electric . It wS purchased incase the electric goes off.

The others have mentioned dealers, please look everywhere. Take your wife with you to make sure she loves the machine and always check they work.

Knitette

I agree with Tate Elliot - enlist the help of her friend. I'll put money on the fact that her friend did not start out with the machine she's now using. If her friend is a true friend, then she'll encourage her to look - and hopefully help her find - a machine that has some of the features she'd like.

As a fairly new quilter myself, I understand your wife's feelings. Because she's 'mastered' that machine (probably with a lot of help from her friend, lol) she thinks that's the only machine she'll be able to use.

As her confidence grows, and with the proper encouragement, she'll eventually realise that all machine are fundamentally the same - but some have more bells and whistles than others (that's not to say there isn't a difference in the build quality of say, a Mercedes and a Jeep - there is) but that's a whole other can of worms, lol.

cindi

Remind her that the machine does not create the quilt - the quilter does. The only thing a quilter truly needs is a machine with a straight stitch, a zig-zag or buttonhole stitch for applique, and maybe a walking foot. Save those thousands of $$$'s for fabric! I'd rather have the fabric than the fancy machine!!

quiltingfan

You have been given a lot of advice. I would also see if her machine needs cleaning. I started on my 175.00 Singer machine and loved it, Unfortunately after our last move it needs to be serviced. Maybe your wife's machine is not performing up to par, it might need to be looked at. Plus it is the love of the process not necessarily the love for the machine.

pelikanbus62

Good morning, I started out with a basic singer sewing machine and ended up with a real nice husqvarna viking embroidery machine. I have found out you do not need a real nice expensive machine to quilt. I have not used my emboidery part of it. (Why I do not know). Any way if you are a beginner all you need for now is a basic. Hope it helps

schoolteacher

Great advice from all of the people. But you are to be commended for trying to solve her problem of the machines.
What a kind and thoughtful thing to do for your wife. Good luck on finding a perfect machine and onward fellow quilter.

Pagzz

What type of quilting is she drawn to? If she likes patchwork then I suggest going to www.quiltville.com Bonnie Hunter's site. On you tube Bonnie will have archived sewing sessions just search Bonnie Hunter quilt cam. Your wife can watch a prolific quilter use her vintage machines that she has bought for less than $100 and tell why she likes them. Bonnie also uses recycled men's shirts for some of her quilts. Here is a link to the latest one http://quiltville.blogspot.com/searc...&by-date=false that she has made.

toverly

Though, it might not help, point out that most folks don't learn to drive on a Porsche. (That's what my group calls Berninas.) I've been quilting for about 3 years and still have my standard ol' Singer. Yes, I long for a Juki or something with a larger harp. She really needs to quilt a while to know what she wants. If I had purchased when I started I would have ended up with fancy stitches and a small harp. It seems that dealers want to demonstrate those features and they are impressive. I have never made a buttonhole. Many expensive machines have extra features that a quilter just won't use.

BellaBoo

I don't know any quilter that would not quilt just because she didn't have a certain machine she wanted. This doesn't sound right to me.

cjsews

I don't have a top of the line machine. I could afford better but have no need for all the bells and whistles. Many of those features I would never use. The things most important to me are, needle down, a drop in bobbin and a 1/4 inch foot attachment. She may just need her old machine serviced. But the cost of thaat is getting quite expensive. You may be able to find a nice machine at Joann's on sale.

Let's keep her enthused about quilting. It is SO MUCH FUN.