My mother didn't sew, although I believe she knew how. For a short time, during my childhood we had a balky protable that I was allowed to use but it was a pain and I rarely did. I loved home ec and did sucessfuly complete the projects, sewing on part of one on a friend of my mothers old treadle. The first machine I had of my own was a used one I bought from a neighbor, used mainly for mending, I passed it on to my sister when another sister gave me a sewing machine her husband's aunt had given her. That old machine was the one that I actually started doing real sewing on. I still have it 40 years later. It is a 1915 Franklin, with knee pedal and no reverse or zigzag. Franklin was made for Sears by a company that precluded White. Of the old hand me down machines I was given through the years that is the only one I've kept. Funny all of the sewing I did for the kids were on old balky machines. It wasn't til they were grown that I ever had a new machine.