The Singer Quantum Stylist
or
http://www.target.com/p/Brother-Deluxe-Electronic-Sewing-Machine-CS6000i/-/A-10909301
I mostly quilt and do small sewing clothing projects for the girls. Any feedback?
I talked to the women at the viking store in JoAnn fabric because they are basically they only place that "really" sells and knows about machines where we are in small town USA. They highly recommended the Singer and said they are currently on back order and can't seem to keep them stocked. DH did consumer reports and came up with the Brother. I just can't wait to start sewing again.
Re: Anyone have...
I can only tell you about the Brother. I've owned it for two years, and I LOVE it. I do a lot of quilting, and some small sewing projects and have not had any problems whatsoever. I highly recommend the machine!
All I can say about Singer is that I owned this machine, and it was such a headache. A little over a year after owning it, it broke on me when I was sewing a simple pair of PJ pants. The repair costs were ridiculous, and the machine never ran the same again after, so my opinion of Singer is not the highest.
The Nifty Foodie
Life/Craft Blog
I have a brother, not that one but one that runs similarly and I love it. I'm going on three years now with no issues.
Newer singers pretty much suck.
Click me, click me!
I also have a Brother that is similar going on 3 years old and I love it. No issues, only routine maintenance and I've done tons of baby quilts and 2 queen sized quilts.
I actually bought my mom the exact machine you are looking at for Christmas and she is doing just fine on it.
However, if you have a Costco membership, I'd urge you to look at this one- it is $20 cheaper, comes with quilting accessories and a hard case, and has 50 more stitches.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11748478&search=sewing+machine&Mo=9&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=sewing+machine&Ntt=sewing+machine&No=2&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
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Brother's CS6000i has been one of Amazon's top selling items for years now- it's extremely well rated there, and that speaks volumes. As has been mentioned by others, though- they make a whole line of machines that are identical except for cosmetics, stitch counts, and included accessories. I've had the XR9000 (another Costco proprietary version) for years now and still love it- it was really the machine I learned on. I still use it very often, even though I like some of the features on my SE400 better (I just don't like pulling the embroidery unit off and on all the time).
Singers generally get awful reviews, and although that particular model seems to have good reviews on Amazon- it's predecessor was AWFUL. And it's still a fairly new model- not enough time for people to really get cranky and go back to edit their reviews.
I'd go for the XR7700 listed above, and use the spare $200 (from the Singer budget) for a serger!
I have that Brother machine and I love it. I work that thing hard sometimes and it keeps on going. I've had it for over a year and I haven't ever had an issue with it. I would probably avoid buying it at Target (I found it on ebay from a vacuum & sewing machine shop seller), but I would definitely buy it.
I hate Singers. With a passion. I can never get them to work for me and they make me feel like I'm sewing challenged. I can take a Brother out of the box and work it fine, but a Singer out of the box? No way.
TTC Baby #2 - BFP on 12/14/11 @ 10DPO - CP confirmed 12/18/11
BFP #2 on 1/13/12
I have all Viking machines (no choice, they were handed down, but they are awesome!), so I don't have a *lot* of experience with other brands. However, my dad has a Brother machine that also embroiders, and it sews wonderfully. BFF also has a Brother that she loves. From what I've seen in the stores, I think I would go with Brother over Singer.
You can also look at patternreview.com -- they also have a section on sewing macine reviews that is wonderful!