I have the TOL Viking Diamond (well TOL when I bought it lol) and have loved it! I use it all the time and do custom order for folks, logos, monograms, bed duvet covers with the Beatles all over it, etc. I stay busy....I have never had any lessons...just started pushing buttons and have to say I don't like to read manuals, so self taught is no lie! I now teach others that have similar machines, and I give general lessons on embroidery to anyone that needs tips, etc. I am no smarter than anyone else, but I do think you have to experience your machine, not wait for a lesson on how to do things...just jump it...don't use a costly item, grab an old t-shirt to get experience on knits..cause it is WAY different than cotton, and put 10 or 12 designs all over it...then throw it away! Or save it, like I do, to learn from my mistakes, and show customers...you can't put 100,000 stitches on a t-shirt in a 4x4 area without distortion! lol....try different stabilizers, try different methods (I very seldom hoop anything anymore, just hoop stabilizer and pin or spray or use blue tape method....towels especially....also, when doing logos all the same, I hoop my 5x7 with stabilizer, move the design down to the bottom of the hoop and do a shirt, then move the design up to the middle and do a 2nd shirt, then again to the top...3 shirts, 1 hooping, just remove the hoop inbetween, smooth the first shirt down and spray place the 2nd, etc. Time savers are my friend!
Enjoy what ever machine you have, get the biggest hoop area you can afford (too many people start out with 4x4 and then want 5x7 so they upgrade and then discover the world of 10x10, 14x14, etc.) Folks that are happy with 4x4 are not taking advantage of what the machines can do...but I understand cost is a factor. I am retired and pray my machine lasts for many more years....but it has paid for itself many times over!