My first was the Rockford machine that my mom received as an 8th grade graduation present. Friends of the family worked for the company and wanted to see if the machine would hold up for an 8th grader. It was funky blue and had a knee lever instead of a foot pedal. After that, I had several more hand-me-down machines from my mom. My first machine that I bought was one from Target. I walked down the aisle lifted each model, finally settling on the one that felt the heaviest. I figured it probably had more metal parts inside. When I told that story to the LQS saleslady, I thought she would have a stroke! She sold me a Janome 6600 and it is a total love affair! I've considered writing about how much I love it in my Facebook status, but then I figure my Facebook friends wouldn't get it, so I write about it here instead. I love, love, LOVE my 6600! Oh, and it's really heavy, so does that mean my Target test a good one?