Allyson, when I was looking to buy my sewing machine, a friend of mine - rocket scientist for the Navy, whose real calling in life is sewing and designing clothes - said that Brother manufactures the mechanisms for many of the top-dollar brands, and when the mechanisms go through quality control testing, the best ones get put in machines with the Brother name. So there is a thought, if you go with a new machine.
It's just an object. It doesn't mean what you think.
River ,'Objects In Space'
The Minearverse 4: Support Group for Clumsy People
[NAFDA] "There will be an occasional happy, so that it might be crushed under the boot of the writer." From Zorro to Angel (including Wonderfalls and The Inside), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath.
WindSparrow - Apr 30, 2006 8:05:13 pm PDT #9750 of 10001
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.
aurelia - Apr 30, 2006 8:06:31 pm PDT #9751 of 10001
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.
Bernina is popular in costume shops and with quilters. I have a really old Singer and a newish Singer. I always pull out the old one when I need to sew something.
WindSparrow - Apr 30, 2006 8:09:57 pm PDT #9752 of 10001
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.
Bernina is one of the brands made by Brother. Elna and Pfaff, too. I think there are some others.
Crafty link: [link] Clean or Dirty?
P.M. Marc - Apr 30, 2006 8:23:22 pm PDT #9753 of 10001
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear
My mother loves her Bernina, which has got to be 25 at least by now.
She's cheating on it with her serger, but I think she'll keep going back to the Bernina.
DavidS - Apr 30, 2006 8:25:13 pm PDT #9754 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Any suggestions?
Aha! I just researched this because I was going to buy JZ one for xmas.
You don't want one that's computerized. You can buy refurbished ones at specialty shops that still have long warranties and will last forever. (20 years) The older metal ones last longer than the newer plastic ones.
Generally speaking the European ones are going to last longer. Folks like Viking and Elna models.
There are some really good deals to be had online, especially when they're closing out a model. You can find $800 machines for $350 if you shop around.
A lot of specialty shops will let you try the used ones in store, or take them home for a month to see if you like it.
eta: Yeah, I also heard Bernina and Pfaff were good. (Note the euro names.)
DavidS - Apr 30, 2006 8:30:23 pm PDT #9755 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Polter-Cow - Apr 30, 2006 9:31:01 pm PDT #9756 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
You know Tim's reading and now wondering how he can kill someone with a sewing machine.
Kristen - Apr 30, 2006 9:34:11 pm PDT #9757 of 10001
I bet you could kill someone with one of those industrial sized ones. At the very least, I'm sure you could maim them.
libkitty - Apr 30, 2006 9:46:00 pm PDT #9758 of 10001
Embrace the idea that we are the leaders we've been looking for. Grace Lee Boggs
Janome is another brand I researched a lot and had a good rep.
A friend who I really trust and who is not trying to sell me a sewing machine (because she's too busy drooling over my mom's old Singer Featherlight that I have now) sells Janome and swears by them. Plus, some of the fancy ones that she has do really nifty embroidery. Although it makes them not last as long, there is something to be said for the computerization.
Tim Minear - Apr 30, 2006 10:07:26 pm PDT #9759 of 10001
"Don' be e-scared"
You could use toxic thread in the embroidery of a Roy Rogers-ish western shirt, of course.