This is the place to learn everything you will ever need to learn. Just pick a simple looking pattern from your book, and follow the instructions step by step. And if you hit a rough spot, come here and just ask your question and you will get an answer the second someone reads your post. It's amazing how fast this board is. As for your machine, you don't need a real fancy one, especially to start. Singer is always a good machine. I just got a new Singer Quantuam Syslist 9960 on Ebay. Can't afford the expensive machines, but this was reasonable, so I also got a Singer Serger. Both will take care of my needs for a very long time.