Sewing Machine Review!

My mom just scored a Viking Husqvarna 1100 used for $140.
In her sewing machine searching she was trying to decide if buying a new Brother from Costco or getting the used Husqvarna would be better. I really appreciated people who had reviewed the machines, so I decided, hey- we should do that on our blog!

So here is a post all about my machine and Lyns and Gretchen will both review theirs in the future. Sweet!


This is my machine.

That is a Shark Europro Intellisew.

What? You mean you've never heard of the Shark brand making sewing machines? Don't they just make vacuums and stuff?
Exactly.

Want to know how I ended up with such a weird machine? Well read on!
(questions taken from Sew Mama Sew's Machine Meme)

What brand and model do you have?

Shark Europro Intellisew 9110

How long have you had it?

about a year and a half.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

$300 regularly, $150 for me. It was on clearance at Target. I could do $150.
And it was certainly better than the Kenmore that I had bought off of Craigslist that was frustrating me.

What types of things do you sew?

LOTS of aprons. I've also sewn some home decor stuff and a rag quilt.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

I've been sewing a lot more in the past year- it probably gets 5 hours per week of use on average.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

I like it. I hated the first one.
I'm not in love with my machine, but I don't really hate it because it works perfectly fine and I haven't had any problems with this one. No name because I just don't love her that much. She may grow on me and be worthy of name eventually though.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

I love that I can move the needle into any position I want it - it doesn't just have left, right, and center. I love the drop in bobbin and liked the threader when it worked (those always seem to break though). Oh and I like all of the feet and such that came with it. The computerized settings make it easy to switch between stitches and stitch length.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

Sometimes the decorative stitching isn't totally consistent, if I'm remembering right. It's been awhile since I've done any decorative stitching. They may work totally fine and I could be just making that up. That also may have been a problem on the first machine I had or a problem I had with a friend's machine. The "embroidery" also drives me nuts. The letters may not even be there. You can only do caps and they don't get very big. Oh! I remember- it was the letters I was having problems with on consistency. So ya, not a fan of the letter embroidery. It is also a little loud, but it doesn't really bug me. It's nothing compared to my Craigslist Kenmore! :)

Do you have a great story to share about your machine?

The story of how I got my machine is slightly entertaining.

I brought home my new purchase with glee (I had just scored a $300 machine for $150! That's exciting stuff!!!) and opened it up. I could tell that my machine had probably been opened before and returned, thus the $150. I set my expectations low because there was probably a problem with it if it had been returned and started sewing on it. Not too long after that it started CLUNKING and jamming. At least I had low expectations!
I called customer service and it has a 25 yr. warranty on it, so I could send it in. The man seemed to think that it would only cost $15ish to ship it. Right.
The other alternative was to take it back to Target and switch it for a new one. This sounded much better.
But, none of my Target's had it in stock.
The good news is that Target.com had the machine for the normal price with free shipping!
So I ordered the new machine and boxed up the dud and returned it to Target with the receipt for the new one. Perfect.

I had a very frustrating beginning with this machine and the reviews I've read combined with that experience cause me to constantly doubt my current machine.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

I would only recommend it if you can get it for $200 or less. I've had a good experience with the new one, but the first one was not a good experience and I would have been really upset if that had happened outside of my 90 day return policy at Target.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

Reliability, longevity, and price are big factors for me. I don't know if I'll every be able to bring myself to buy a brand new quality machine. I think your personal use is really important. Don't be afraid to start out with something cheaper/used and use it for a while. I also think that you can't go wrong buying older models of quality machines. (Wait until you hear about Lynsey's Bernina!) I started out with a $50 machine from Craigslist and maybe one day I'll work my way up from the Shark that I currently have.

Do you have a dream machine?

My dream machine would be anything made by a quality brand at this point. Bernina, Viking, Pfaff...