I started off sewing with a Singer treadle which I stil have, then bought a Singer Graduate (back in the 70's). That was a total workhorse- made lots of garments. Really put it thru its paces and it's still humming along. Eventually, I wanted a machine with more bells and whistles so I bought a Brother NX400 which is a great machine and then bought a Brother Laura Ashley last year at a quilt expo and got a good price. I got alot of bang for my buck with the Laura Ashley- needle up and down, differential feed, auto threader and thread cutter, and the list of features goes on and on. I love the Laura Ashley and it is probably more machine than I'll ever compeltely need. I also love my NX400 which is the one I take to class or outside to the deck to sew. I also have a smaller less expensive Brother machine for small embroidery which suits my purposes fine. I also have 2 Singer 201's which are workhorses also. One of them belonged to my mother and she had an alteration business where it was in constant use. I love my Brothers!!!!