Originally Posted by feline fanatic

Wow what a good friend! This is the machine I have. I have had it for about 8 or 9 years now. I love it! I recommend finding a dealer in your area to take lessons so you can take full advantage of all the machine is capable of doing. There is a very basic block alphabet in it that you can program to spell out whatever you like. I am assuming your friend gave you all the feet that go with it. The walking foot alone costs almost $200!! Most of the other regular type feet run around $30 each. I recently purchased the open toe embroidery foot for FMQ which gives me better visibility then the FMQ foot that came with the machine which has a clear plastic circular type foot. Use ONLY bernina bobbins in this machine. Any other bobbin can cause damage to the hook, same for needles. Use ONLY Schmidt needles. Singer needles will fit but will also damage the hook. This model has been discontinued for some time but I don't foresee myself ever upgrading to another machine unless I hit the lotto because the 440 models sure are nice (with a very nice price tag to go with them). Brand new the 153QE was over $1000. I do not think the BSR (Bernina stitch regulator) will work with this model so for FMQ you have to practice to get your stitches consistent. I recently purchased the open toe embroidery foot to do FMQ and I like it much better. It is a #37 I think.