I only vaguely remember learning how to use the machine. I was probably 6 or 7? When I was 4 or 5 Mom used to give me a piece of fabric, a threaded needle, a jar of buttons and her pinking shears to make "clothes" for my Cabbage Patch doll. I'd make sure the fabric could go all the way around the doll, then make armholes and a buttonhole (sometimes they were in the right place, usually they weren't) and slap on the biggest, gaudiest button I could find.
My first real sewing project was a pillow I made for my first year in 4H. It was black satin with a purchased filet crochet picture of a horse stitched to the front. That stupid satin wouldn't hold the stuffing in the corners, and I've hated satin ever since.
In junior high, we learned to sew in Home Ec class. Our first project was tote bags; I proved to the teacher that I was good enough to choose my second project from the "advanced" section of the project catalog (everyone else had to choose a "beginner" project). I made a stuffed banana with floppy peels and a lot of hand-embroidery. My mom probably still has it.
I did a lot of costuming in college, and I continued making clothes for myself afterward. I like sewing clothes, but I don't like how commercial patterns don't do a good job keeping up with modern fit. I usually have to lengthen tops and shorten the rise in most pants. And I'm kinda chesty, so I almost always have to alter patterns to nip in more below the bust. I don't sew clothing near as much as I used to for those reasons.
My mom taught me to sew, but it's been so long since she's done any herself that I had to give her a brush-up lesson on using the machine when I loaned it to her last weekend. ;)