[My lil friend]

Originally Posted by southernbelle04

I agree! I hate having to hold down the button to back stitch. I have a very basic brother sewing machine. My parents bought it for me as a Christmas gift. I love it, but I am a beginner too. It is all I need right now but I have to confess I have been eyeing a brother machine on hsn that is a sewing,embroidery machine combined. It's around $500 but I'll have to save or ask for one as a present from the hubby. Lol. Here it is:

Brother Embroidery and Sewing Machine with USB Port at HSN.com

My PFAFF has a button to lock in a seam instead of backstitching. Ive been sewing so long that it is just old habit to use the backstitch button.
You could learn to do "free hand" embroidery on the sewing machine. That is something that I have done and it is fun. My mother used to embroider flowers (very detailed) on towels,garments and linens with this method.