Find a FeatherWeight! I spent $350 on mine but it is in pristine condition with attachments, manual, case and extras. It has been worth every penny I spent and then some.

Look at www.shopgoodwill.com . You'll be surprised what they have. There are 2 Featherweights on there right now for less than $300.00

My good sewing machine broke and I just bought a Brother CS-6000i sewing machine and it is really nice for the money. You can't beat it for the money. I am very pleased with it. It sews thru several fabrics and several battings at a time with no problem. The decorative stitching seems to work great too.

I have a Pfaff 2144 embroidery machine and I too wanted something for a back up machine. I chose a Singer 500. It does beautiful straight stitching, several combination fancy stitches by dialing different combinations and also has several cams that you can just pop in and make some very nice stitches. I chose it because it is the last of the machines that are all metal and no plastic parts to lose tension or break. I bought it on E-Bay under 200.00 and it has served me fantastically well.

Once you narrow your choice to the type you want, FW, 301 etc. check craigslist for your area. You can get some great buys and many have no idea about what they are selling, just want to be rid of it. I got a Viking Freesia for 110 from a fellow who was moving out of the country. I gave it to my DD and she is happy happy happy.

I have been using one of my Featherweight machines as a back up. However,I just bought an inexpensive Bernette 46 to take on trips with me. Still love the FW though!!!

the light weights (Walmart Brother) doesn't do very well with quilting. Janome makes really good Jems,

I use my FW a lot. Not much can go wrong with a FW. Think about what it will cost for the yearly tune up before buying.

I agree. Vintage machines are going out last any new one, and the stitches they sew are really really nice! new machines cannot compare to them.

I have a Pfaff 2054 (fancy stitches) - bought a Brother SE350 (sewing/embroidery) and then bought a larger Brother PE770 for the 5x7 emb field. The machine I use the most? - the little SE350 - it is light enough to carry around, has the automatic thread cutter, easy to set for that 1/4" seam, can "pop on" the embroidery unit if I want, uses any kind of thread I can throw at it, including bobbin, and the one I find myself turning to most often. I would especially recommend it for a young person just starting out.

Marysewfun