Rose_P

My first baby boy also used to say "heart beep" 40-some years ago!

I agree with zozee about the machine signals, but on my Ellisimo there is an option to turn the sounds off. The Janome might also have this as a setting. I haven't done it because although they're annoying, I need the "reminders".

I just wish I'd realized much sooner how much I would love to use an embroidery machine for quilting. This is a high end Baby Lock machine that I bought used from a dealer who had upgraded it with a couple of bonus packs. It has an on-board camera and the designs can be rotated in tiny increments to position them just right.

I also wish I'd known how much I'd love the Baby Lock before I bought the first (low-end) Brother embroidery machine and outgrew it in 2 months. I thought all I wanted it for was to make labels for my quilts, and maybe embellish an occasional t-shirt. It would be great if that's all I wanted it for. It does wonderful embroidery, but the Baby Lock does everything.

Rose_P

Oh, Carol! That's a nightmare. Sorry this happened to you. I have a Singer Quantum machine that's very nice to use, but had a similar problem soon after I bought it on Amazon. I just assumed that places that sell Singers have warranty service, but this is not at all the case. Texas has (or maybe by now "had") exactly 2 warranty shops. One was in El Paso, hundreds of miles away, and the other, lucky for me, was SW of Houston, only about an hour and a half from where I lived at the time and about 5 hours from where I live now. My main circuit board went out on an almost new machine. It took about 3 months for them to get the replacement part. The warranty covered it fully, and I still have the Singer as a backup machine and like the way it sews, but would never buy another one. They expect people to box up and ship machines great distances for service, and it's just not a reasonable expectation as far as I'm concerned. If I'd bought it from a local shop, they would have taken the responsibility for shipping it out for service, but still the potential for long delays is just absurd.

DawnFurlong

I'm sorry, I know it's awful to feel that way. It really zaps the joy out of it. I wish all manufacturers would have a contingency plan for those caught in this situation.

lass

I had an old Viking with cams so I bought another Viking. Just love it. The only thing I wish I had done was to buy the one with additional stitches. I am using them for quilting quite a bit.

Peckish

That would drive me batty. I specifically purchased my microwave because it has the ability to turn the beep off. Why do I need a beep to tell me it's done? I can hear that the motor isn't running, I can see the light has turned off, and the display says "done".

To the OP's original question. I wish I had known how much I love my Brother PQ1500, I would have purchased two. Not that I need a backup, I've never had to take it in for service in the 10 years I've owned it.

rryder

Yes, the domestc HQ machines look like Janomes to me.

Rob

SouthPStitches

That it doesn't have a needle down button.

tuckyquilter

Truly and honestly evaluate WHAT you really use on a machine. Many have machines that are way more than they really need. I, for example, don't need an embroidery machine. I have a friend with one and I just pay her to do a special label now and again, or embroider the label right on the backing before it's quilted. I also don't need a million fancy stitches. In the 60+ years I've been sewing I rarely use most of them.

I have never paid more than $200 for any machine I own (nine to date) NONE are new, none are computerized. The newest machine I own, a Janome 415 (low end)($125. dealer floor model) is the worst of the bunch. I have Singers ranging from a 1910 Treadle ($200), 1952 Featherweight ($200) to a 1967 Touch & Sew 600. A 1974 Sears Kenmore and a 1938 White Rotary Electric. All have very few parts to break, just clean and oil. They all serve me well. When my in-home sewing group meets several of the ladies just use my machines which is much easier than dragging theirs along. If there isn't a price behind the model, it was free or a gift. I do love my Serger, but it was a Christmas gift from my son & family.
But in the end, buy the machine you like and can afford. Try out the machines your friends own, as that is very helpful

Cheryl7758

Check your manual - I believe you can turn that beeping off. "customizing your machine settings"

Rose_P

For what it's worth, there is a long history of good quality sewing machines made in Taiwan. I recently bought a rare old Singer from 1973 that was made there, and I think it's every bit as good as a Bernina I have from the same period. Of course, those are vintage, all metal types of machines, so it possibly has no bearing on today's products. Just saying it's not necessarily junk just because it was made there. A company like Handi-Quilter has quite a bit at stake putting their badge on a machine that's outsourced, and they have every incentive to maintain good customer relations. It's when a foreign entity buys some company that you might have reason to think the quality wouldn't be the same. There is no American Singer Company as there once was, for example.