I think they are great for garment sewing, especially knits. Don't need it for quilting at all. I have not sewn garments in a number of years but am now just getting back into it. I need to find a spot for it in my sewing room. I just made a blouse and just pinked most of the seam edges because I was too lazy to get it out. If you have a diagram for threading it isn't really hard, and once you've done it you can tie on like someone else described above, and then rarely have to do it again. A serger definitely has it's uses, but not a necessity.