RIP dear sewing machines

(you can't see it, but the digital display now reads "666" when it turn it on...I'm sad)
Two down, no more to go.

Until recently, I had two sewing machines. One was a Singer Slant from the 1950s and the other a Husqvarna Viking 960 computerized from the early 80s. Both have stories and now both are dead.

Until about 6 years ago, I was using sewing machines borrowed from my mother or grandmother. That is, until one day when my brother found this old Singer Slant - in a cabinet! - outside his apartment waiting to be taken by the garbage men. He brought it to our mother - a master seamstress and mechanical guru - who oiled the heck out of it, got it moving and gave it to me. It came with EVERY accessory you could imagine, including an original packet of needles (which I have never used, but found interesting). That machine was a workhorse, making several suits and dresses, including my wedding dress! The automatic buttonholer attachment made wonderful buttonholes and I had just about every template for it that existed.

Fast forward to 2 years ago and my mom received a 1980s computerized Viking as a gift for helping a friend move - he was going to sell it in a garage sale until my mom showed interest in it. She gave it to me and that was the quietest, quickest, best machine I could possibly imagine. It came just as the Singer was requiring yet another re-oiling (which would cause fabric to become stained for several weeks if I did not take precautions...it just wasn't worth the work anymore). I retired the Singer and began to sew exclusively on the Viking.

Fast forward to yesterday - after 2 months of getting the hang of being a mom, and overcoming a pretty nasty case of the flu, I finally had some sewing mojo. I decided to start by putting the finishing touches on the hooter hider that has been sitting on my dining room table for weeks. I turn on my machine and it looks like it was possessed!!! All of the digital numbers were showing up as 8's, every LED was lit up (as if I had selected EVERY available stitch to stitch at the same time!). I tried to sew and it went along at a snail's pace - literally it did one stitch per second in this teeny tiny stitch length that I cannot lengthen. So, I decided to break out the Singer that had been recently oiled but not used - it stitched along fine for about 8 stitches and then SNAP - the thread breaks and I have a birds nest of bobbin thread. Tear everything out, put in a different bobbin and rethread...same thing - 10 stitches and then SNAP...this time the needle breaks. I go through this one more time, replacing the needle and have the exact same results. The only thing we can think of is that there is a nick in the bobbin case (something I just had to deal with on my embroidery-only machine last week). The problem is, it will cost $100 to have the local Singer/Viking deal look at EITHER machine - or $150 to diagnose both - and I just don't think it's worth it for machines that are so old and I have no real attachment to.

So...now that I have my sewing mojo back and am dying to jump in and take on some new projects, I am in need of a machine. Nothing too expensive, since hubby and I are on a budget now that we have decided he will stay home with the baby (the cost of daycare and the expense of his commute with the price of gas made that decision easy) but definitely something with some lasting power. Now taking recommendations. In the meantime, I'm off to research new machines!!