sewing machine... any recommendatons??

For my first one, I just bought a Singer Inspiration 4205/4210. It was 100 dollars but its great, it has all the basic stitches and a buttonhole feature.

oh sounds like mine

It depends on if you want all the features and if you are using it for business. I just wanted a basic sewing machine for personal use so I went with a Janome Jem Gold 2. I got it new for a fairly good price and it is perfect for what I wanted. It has 12 different stitches, a buttonhole feature with foot, and it is very easy to thread and work. It has been fairly good with only a few jam ups (I had the tension wrong, and it was easy to fix), so I recommend it if that is what you are looking for.

One tip I have it not to buy second hand, because you will soon find out why the person is selling it.

My mum is a seamstress and we have always had elnas in our family. I would advise you to either go to a sewing machine shop or John Lewis (they sell elna and Janome) and ask for advice and to try a couple of machines. My personal Elna has been going for 21 years and my mum's elna has been going for about 40!
Also, have you thought about asking on Freecycle, and then just paying for a good service for the machine? you can then see for fairly cheap what you really use most in the machine and can than look to buy a new machine with some sewing hours under your belt and knowing which bits you cannot live without!
Good luck with your dressmaking x x

I use a Brother. It's digital and has a bunch of cool decorative stitches. Also, it's super easy to use (and the manual is easy to read).

Btw, brothers rock I bought one a couple months ago and its awesome.

I have an Husquvarna and it fits my needs perfecly. However if I could change one thing I would have a drop bobbin. So when you are looking around try and see if you can find one with a drop bobbin, makes life a little easier.