Last Christmas I also decided to give up my old Singer. I went to a local "Sew-n-Vac" store that has some fabric and classes in addition to sales/repair of machines. They were so nice and helpful it made the process painless. I described exactly what I do--cloth art dolls--so they could eliminate any of the machines that have mainly quilting programs etc. I said that I really wanted something simple but more modern features than my old machine. The woman that helped me started with the low end and worked up, describing the features of each and steering me away from things I probably wouldn't want. I never felt like she was just trying to make a sale or push the more expensive machines.
I ended up with a middle of the line Janome and I LOVE it. Does all the basic things plus things that make what I do sooo much more simple. For example, you can push a button to have the needle always stop down. So when I am doing little fingers or other details that require raising the foot and turning the fabric, the needle will stay down and hold the spot. Several auto knotting options, so you don't have to back stitch if you don't want to. None of it really fancy, just making doing the basics easier. (Wow, who knew that machines have a needle threading feature now??!!)
I think with tax it was under $500. on sale. They also offered a free class to get me acquainted with what the machine does. I've gone back a couple times when I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong in a particular situation and they were happy to troubleshoot and get me back on track at no charge. If you can find a place like this, that is not a chain and is willing to give you more personal help, I think it makes a big difference vs a place that's just trying to get machines out the door. And really describe what you plan on doing or not doing so the sales person can, hopefully, narrow down your choices.
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