GrannyFitz4

I agree with those who said buy her a new machine and keep the mother-in-law machine for back up. Feet for the Singer could be expensive. Usually people who sew have more than one machine. I would like to have one machine threaded with black thread and one with ecru. That way I don't have to thread the machine every time I need either color to sew. Hopefully there isn't a rivalry between you and MIL.

alnpartimequilter

This is just a thought. There are a lot of places you can get a used box of assessories that she could have for her old machine that you would not have to spend to much on, if she wants to keep that machine. Check with your local Singer repair place.Then you could always get her the new machine too. Some times it is nice to have 2 machines to work on if you do a lot of sewing.

alices

I agree with Alfosa421. Go for the newer machine but keep the old one as a back up. I still have my first machine which was a Singer Featherweight 1960's. And use it for teaching my grandaughters...

QuiltingHaven

Buy her a new one if you would like. I would try to get her a vintage Singer like a 301 or a featherweight but the new ones do have lots of bells and whistles. However, don't worry about more that one machine. I now have 10 and use them all. She can just tell her MIL that she loved hers so much, she wanted to have one from each side of the family and she can keep different colors of thread in each and go back and forth. Trust me 2 are better than 1!!!!

quiltingcandy

My first thought was go with a new machine, but then after reading the replies about hurting feelings, maybe a new machine is not the answer. You may be able to find a few of the feet on Ebay or even order from various vendors that sell used parts. On the other hand. If you were considering paying up to $400.00 why not give the money to your daughter and let her make the decision on what she wants. And if she has a little money left over it will more than likely be spent on fabric.

katiebear1

I agree. You can get a basic beginners machine pretty reasonably

clsurz

IMHO what's the MIL got to do with it. If mother wants to do for her own daughter I say go for it. There should be no hard feelings on anyone's part. Mother can talk to daughter about it and see how she feels unless mother wants to surprise her for Christmas with a new one. MIL has nothing to say or do about what mother wants to do for her own daughter. And that is my $2.00 worth of personal opinion.

charlotte37830

I think I would go with a new machine. I have 3 Brother machines and love them all. The most I spent on any of them was the embroidery/sewing machine and it cost less than $400.

Momsmurf

Are you on good terms with MIL? If so, I would try to discuss it with her. MIL might already realize that it's limited...maybe she herself was not much of a seamstress.

On the other hand, what's soo bad about getting your DD a few basic feet for her machine. She would then have something more to offer when the time came to "upgrade".
I personally wouldn't buy her another "newer" machine...at least not yet. There is a great saying about "Good intentions...."

Jim

A Brother Project Runway is a great machine available at Walmart for less than $200