What a way to start...

Hi all - I've been thinking about doing this for a while now, and today seemed like a good day to start. Why? My sewing machine went Kafluey last night, 1/3 through a binding for a piece due on Sunday!! It is a 13 year old Kenmore, and I have put it through heck and back, but it has served me well, and I am reluctant to part with it, so hopefully it will not cost a fortune to repair. I *am* toying with the idea of actually buying a 'real' sewing machine at this point (especially since my Mum said that maybe that could be my birthday present!) but I don't even use the stitches and functions on my Kenmore, so why look at a Janome or Huskie? I didn't even know that I HAD a blind hem stitch until last summer, and still haven't figured out how to use it! Lol... One thing that DOES sound really nice about the low range Huskies is the binding foot - I didn't even know that those existed until yesterday (I've been machining the front and blindstitching the back by hand all this time). Nice perk... Besides - I find myself wondering what all the fuss (and expense) is really about; my Kenmore goes forward, backward, and makes a nice zigzag stitch for applique. That HAS been all that I've needed. I've also noticed though that many people seem to judge how seriously one takes one's work by how much money one has invested in their sewing machine... and apparently the Sears brand just doesn't carry much weight! Lol... I shouldn't wonder though - folks had the same attitude when I had invested tons in my looms; even though I have done WAY more work on my sewing machine than on all of my looms combined, folks always assumed that I was more of a serious weaver than sewer. Oh well... I think I'll play around with the fancy machines at the shop, maybe pick up a used one, and get my Kenmore fixed as well. If it ain't broken, don't fix it, but WOW I wouldn't go back to handwashing every dish for all the money in the world, so maybe I should look at the next gen sewing machines too...