FroggyinTexas

I bought my Kenmore in 1958. It has cams that make wonderful decorative stitches. I love my Janome 4800, but that old Kenmore is my go-to machine for heavy duty sewing. Of course, mine is in a cabinet, so lifting it is not a problem, but if I were in your shoes, I would set the Kenmore up and leave up until you get the problem with the Bernina settled. froggyintexas

QuilterMomma

I have owned an old universal which did good till I burned it up, have my grandmother's old Kenmore which always goes out of tension wack, had a Viking, which was really nice compared to the others and liked that I did not have to mess with the tension, then purchased a Bernina 165 10 years ago because i wanted an embroidery machine and a friend of mine worked at the Bernina dealer. She had also worked at several other fabric shops with other brands of machines. She said that Bernina was one of the best built machines on the market. Now each of us has an opinion, another friend would never let her Pfaff go. Personally, now that I have finally become close friends with my Bernina, I would never let her go. I would buy a Bernina backup machine. It does not necessarily have to be new, can be used. I would check craigslist, ebay, or LQS. You will find one that is quality and price right. Get that Bernina fixed, they are an investment. Bernina holds their resale price pretty good. Now a Brother, to each their own, I have had guild members buy one and they took them back because would not work right. If you buy one in a LQS, you will pay more, but they will hold up on service. I have not heard either way on a Singer, but there are some reasonably priced Elnas that are a decent quality and good workers. Hope that helps some and more food for thought.

Trish88

Hi Deb....well first off how old is your Bernina...is she older then 10-15 yrs...if so you might want to get another machine...if shes young and things arent going to cost a lot for repairs then have her repaired......in the mean time if you want something not to expensive look into buying a new one on HSN.....you can go online to hsn click on crafts and you will see all the sewing machines they have and watch videos on each one and their fairly in-expensive.......I will tell you a short story here I had one of those Kenmore 100 lb machines and I never moved it...as you said it was heavy but I di all my sewing on it and I wish I still had it...it died after 20 yrs so I parted with it.....I then bought a Brother it was computerized and I still have it and its the lightest machine I ever had....you dont have to use a pedal...it has designer stitches....but its so light that when I do quilting it just couldnt handle the weight of all that fabric so I use the machine mostly for small projects...and last year I bought the Singer Futura.....it embroiders, sews, quilts and serges this machine is amazing...Ive always wanted an embroidery machine but I wasnt going to pay a zillion dollars for one so I got this one thru HSN...easy pays and got loads of feet and software for designs etc...the best part is you can d/l any designs online for every machine out there as I said its amazing the price was $ 800.00 at the time but now you can get it at Joanns and some quilt stores and thats my story......so I think you just have to sort out in your mind what you like best...I wish the best...but dont always think that the most expensive machine is the route to go...because it isnt.....Trish

MadQuilter

That was my first thought too. It's like driving a nice car with bun warmers and everything adjustable and then having to drive a no-frills jalope.

luvstoquilt

My Pfaff died last March...the part was no longer available..I now am loving my Viking but very disgusted a machine that cost so much was not able to be repaired!

Quilting Angel

Ditto!! I have a Brother SQ 9000 and it is great. Also have a Janome 8050. I love them both.

KarenR

Fix it! if you like it or trade on a new one.

Trish88

Quilting Angel....your so right I have a Brother too....and as I said in my earlier post its worked for me for 10 years and its a small machine which I picked up at Walmart.....it did all my sewing and I can take it anywhere its so light and doesnt take a lot of room to put away or leave out in my sewing room.....so I feel as another member posted its like buying a new car you have to do some research or just hope you get a good one...the thing is to keep in mind you have 30 days anywhere to return so take it for a ride and decide....Trish

AnnR

Debs, I wouldn't write off your Bernina just yet. I have an 1130 that I bought in the mid 1980's. The mother board went out twice and just simply stopped dead both times. The first time, the machine was young enough that my dealer simply replaced the mother board. The second time (many years later) it had to be sent somewhere in the mid west to have the board rebuilt. It wasn't inexpensive either time, but worth the cost of repair because it's a really great machine. My own opinion about what you should do is consider using your older machine temporarily or borrow one and spend your money repairing your Bernina. It's worth it if you love your machine like I do.

Jingle

My oldest Daughter has a Brother she bought several years ago from Wal Mart for under $200.00 and she has sewn lots on it. It has an extension table for it. It has never been in a shop. It is a very good machine.