Sewing machine help

When I started sewing again after many years I went to a large branch of John Lewis on a quiet morning and spent an hour with the assistant trying different machines at various price points and levels of complexity.

I settled on the Janome 7025 which I’ve been very pleased with.

my advice is not to get too basic Susie. You sound as though you will get the sewjo and will fly. What do you want in a sewing machine? Some ideas

Portable or not

Some variety of stitches

Automatic buttonhole

ability to take a walking foot as many fabrics today are stretch and knit

Personally I would go to a sewing machine shop and look closely at their trade-ins, that they have serviced

I have bernina 380 and bernina record vintage as I love mechanical. I bought the latter second hand from a bernina engineer, fully refurbished

I would not get too computer based. I love both these machines of mine and have gone up and up the sewing machine scale from singer treadle that I used at 9. Bernina is, as far as I am concerned, the pinnacle and can handle any fabric