I have the Brother SE350 that I bought from WM 4 or 5 years ago. It is my favorite machine! I also have another Brother sewing/embroidery that I had purchased before the 350 model which I had liked at that time. It was the Disney model and used thread cassettes were sensitive to different threads. It is downstairs somewhere which I will probably dig out sometime and give to my granddaughter. Don't be intimitated by others about your machine. Just take some classes from you LQS about a technique you want to learn. As to learning about your machine, just play. I've had mine for years and sew daily. I still will discover something that I didn't know about my machine just by using it.