I have two - both Baby Locks. An Ellisimo and an Ellegante. I love them both. I got the Ellisimo for Christmas and tried to sell my Ellegante, no one wants to pay what I SHOULD have traded it in for. Now I use both, 1 is embroidering while I am sewing on the other. I think the investment I made was well worth it. I love the embroidery I can do with it and love the way they sew. I ALSO love to do hand embroidery, and as Lisa_wanna-be said, the stem stich or outline stitch are simple, very easy to do and would do you just as well. Check out the tutes she mentioned. But if you ever decide on a embroidery machine, I don't think you will be sorry. Happy Sewing.