Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Need Machine Suggestions

Not many people reading yesterday, huh?  Y'all all busy?  I was too.

Although I didn't quilt much,  it I did housework. I generally run the roomba daily in the den/hallway and my bedroom. I have two roombas, ya know.  I thought the original one drowned in the flood, but I must have put it up before we left and it survived.  Before I unpacked it, I had already purchased a new one.  So I have two!

But once a week I do a regular vac, and mop the whole house.  This day, I tossed in a cleaning for the huge shower in my spa bath.  I spent the rest of the afternoon bringing the dogs to get bathed, picking them up and not remembering to put the stuffed peppers in the crockpot!

So we had no dinner and had to go to Dairy Queen.  Yep, had to.

So I have this important question.  Carrie has been using my mother's old cheap Walmart Brother machine.  It needs to be tuned up, but the cost of these tune ups is way more than mom paid for it years ago.

So I am looking for a mid range machine to give her for Christmas.  We have a Bernina shop in town, a Viking shop and a baby lock dealer.  I think they have singers at joanns here and of course there is the internet and whatever. I am sure someone sells Janome and one of the Vac Shops sells a New Home.

I want to spend $300-400 for a nice machine.  I think some pluses that would be nice is needle up/down, a small alphabet, some cute stitches.  And whatever else might be good to have. Seems like there was one thing that I can't remember right now I told her we would look at.

She wants to sew some things like curtains, pillows, simple clothes for Sawyer, maybe some crafty things for the house.  She definitely does not like to sew quilts!  But she uses a lot of home dec and curtain materials so I think a mid range machine might have a bit more motor power than a lower level machine.

So what are your suggestions?  What do you love?  What should we look at?

Help!


8 comments:

  1. No knowledge in that price range, I would suggest that you take Carrie to test drive whatever machine you intend to buy. I recommended a machine for my granddaughter and it is perfect for her, but I tried to sew with 4 different children a few weeks ago and found that a sewing machine has a very personal fit.

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  2. I can't help much either, as I only use old Singers (a 501 and a Featherweight). Good luck with your search for the right machine.

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  3. I agree is for you and Carrie or just you go and test drive the machines at all the places. I only use my Pfaff 1475 which is about 20 years old, but I love it.

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  4. I've heard good things about the new eversewn machines. I'll send you a link

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  5. For that price you could get a really nice used machine (I like Janome), or an ok new one. Sewing machines last forever so I'd get a used one. I bought my daughter a used Bernina a few years ago for $125.

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  6. I personally love berninas as is evident by how many I have. Four I believe. They are good quality machines, even at the lower end. Look at the Bernina activa. They used to come in 210 220 and 240 models. Also check to see if there are any used refurbished at Bernina or other machine store. Good luck.

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  7. I bought an old mechanical Bernina more than 25 years ago, and it is still going strong. I sew everything from chiffon to leather on it. Easy to thread and maintain. But I agreee with stitchpenny above, a machine needs to fit the person running it. Good luck!

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  8. I'm discovering that a sewing machine is only as good as the availability and quality of the service. Just a thought while shopping for Carrie.

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