I'm not as 'experienced' as some on the board, but I remember my mom getting her brand new kenmore sewing machine at the sears fabric store in the early 70's. She made a lot of our clothes, and taught me to sew on that machine when I was about 8. She also bought fabric at a 5 and 10 called Neisners that was in downtown Rochester. She even ordered the fabric for our school uniforms an made those too. My younger sister can't even hem her own pants ( I can't balance a checkbook- she can, but I would rather know how to sew).