Can I just speak up for the vintage machines, please? If it were me, then I would go for the nicest
Singer 201 I could find
. Beautiful, beautiful quality stitches, a lovely solid machine which will outlive you
. Best of all, it should never throw a hissy fit or frizzle its circuit board
Vintage Brothers are wonderful, too. I have one sitting waiting for my room to be cleared out! I have it purely for its wonderful zig zag stitch. It is a beast of a machine! Solid metal and heavy - very heavy.
The
have plenty of room to wrangle a quilt through and are very, very forgiving of user error. No horrendously expensive service charges, just a nice clean, a drink of oil and all is well.
My vintage ladies are my joy and absolute
even if I could ever afford a 'plastic fantastic' I would never buy one, straight stitch and zig zag, plus my lovely vintage Bernette overlocker I am learning are all the sewing family I will ever need
. Yes, sometimes I dream of an embroidery machine, but that's all it is, a dream! Applique and a little simple hand embroidery are ample for me
So please, don't overlook the oldies - they are still sought after and cherished because those who use them know they cannot be bettered