Anthony, have a look of my post dated 25 January in Haberdashery which will tell you not what to do.  I second Greybird’s comment as I always use Schmitz which I usually buy from The Ironing Press Company and I think they sell through eBay or Amazon.

@Ouryve & @BrendaP   Thank you both for the information and I agree the colours aren’t that subtle so I don’t think I will bother to try it.

I think I’ve mentioned before that my elderly NDN only had one needle which was probably about 35/40 years old that she used to sharpen when it became blunt.  She thought I was very extravagant concerning needles, also my MiL only ever used a size 14 for everything but only changed if they broke.

I had to stop halfway through cutting out my top and I'm going to finish cutting out facings and interfacing so that I can start sewing my top but probably won't start sewing until tomorrow.

I think you would be better off buying from a local dealer as you will have after-sales service which you don't get if you buy on line or from somewhere like John Lewis or Argos for example.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to take your mother with you when you finally buy a machine so that she can choose.

I've read through all the information and think it's good and better than the Schmetz information sheets.
As it is difficult to buy specialist needles locally I buy my Schmetz needles from the Ironing Press Company, they are usually delivered by return of post and, as a bonus, a needle threader is included.

@grndkntrl   You'll find loads of good advice and information on here, and everyone is very friendly.

I haven't been very inspired by any of the ZW patterns as they all seem to be baggy, shapeless, and not very flattering but   perhaps they look better when made up.