One of my guild sisters can't afford the annual membership of $5, can't buy any fabric and uses a guild loaned machine. we delight in her creativity. What she does with our scraps is awesome. I encourage people on very limited budgets to buy working yard sale machines. In my guild it is our policy to celebrate everyone who quilts. BYW, I am perfectly willing to badmouth Bernina (mine was a major lemon) and speak well of Viking and Janome, but you don't have to go there to be a quilter.