karenpatrick

I do most of my sewing on a $125.00 Brother that I bought many years ago at Walmart. It's reliable and has only been to the repair shop for cleaning and oiling once a year. It sews a great seam and I have no intention of replacing her. She purrs like a kitten. I have a $400.00 White that my dh bought me many years ago for my birthday. It's a good machine but I still prefer my Brother as it has a large platform for a larger sewing space. I also have a Brother embroidery machine that I use to make clothes for my granddaughter. I do use the White for machine quilting as it has a larger throat and makes the quilting easier. You don't have to have expensive machines to make quilts. I made them for years just on my $125.00 Brother.

Lavada

i have a simple brother works great for me and i can relate to wood heat and outside johns especially growing up in arkansas

wishfulthinking

I know it is silly of me, but one reason I've never taken classes is I feel like I am the only person who will be there sewing on a 20 year old Kenmore. That and it is just so heavy & inconvenient to drag around. And I am to cheap to pay for the class and fabric at quilt store prices.

beckalou

I too have been looking for a deal/steal. DH and I have been going to thrift stores, garage sales and estate sales. We found a Featherweight at an antique store last week. It had signs of wear, no manual, case in good shape, but they wanted $525.00 for it. We also found a Singer 401A in blonde cabinet at an estate sale yesterday. All manuals and attachments were with it and it was in excellent shape. Price was $75.00, but it wouldn't fit in our car and we were 50 miles from home. :(

grandma anna

I have started checking out our local Goodwill found 13 yards of fabric in 4 different fabrics for 10.77 love it.

Jo Mama

I would love to be able to have gooby gobs of machines but that is silly so I am done buying any new machines.

Katz13203

I can't find anything at the thrift stores either. I even have friends that do not sew and go to different stores then I do looking for books machines and fabric. They are having no luck either.

The estate prices are not cheap either. Even the quilts at the estate sales are selling for hundreds of dollars.So I walk away with nothing.

Mary M

Oh to be thankful for what we have and the future holds so much more for many that have been short changed. Be happy that you can quilt for that is what we are, quikters. Aren't we blessed to have so much compared to our grandmothers and great grandmothers. Your day is bound to come f you just keep looking in the right direction. I too would love to come across some beautiful fabric at a thrift store or estate sale or a garage sale but I am not going to make myself unhappy with not having what others may have. I will work for what I need.

BettyGee

I look longingly at the ads for the new machines and almost drool on the machines when I go for my monthly sewing class, but my litte Pfaff does what I need. Plus I just splurged and bought the AccuQuilt Go so I must behave myself. Now the only rough part is that there are so many dies that go with the GO and they are not cheap.

Well as it is Mother's Day I'm off to the sewing room for a day of bliss. Dinner is in the crock pot and all is well in my world. Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow quilters and to all women, for we are all mothers.

jlm5419

My favorite machine is probably one I bought new in the '70s. It is also my newest machine other than the embroidery machine I got for Christmas a couple of years ago.

I actually prefer the older machines, the older the better. In fact, I have 2 treadles that are in proper working order. I recently finished a t-shirt quilt for my DDIL on a 90+ year old machine. With the proper attachments and knowhow, these old machines will do almost anything the newer ones will.
:-)