I am a Bernina girl. I learned to sew on my mother's Singer Featherweight that she purchased in 1935. After her death I gave it to my nieces whom she had also taught to sew on it. I managed to find another Featherweight in mint condition at a yard sale for just $20. The few times I have needed to take a machine somewhere I took it. The Bernina has spoiled me for anything else. I worked for a shop that does custom dressmaking and alterations for about a year. They were also a Bernina dealer. After using their machines daily I was hooked. The optional needle down capacity as well as the wealth of stitches and needle positions are something I use almost daily. I now own a Bernina Artista 185 table model and a Bernina 220, which is an inexpensive portable model. I use it for times when I need to take my machine to another part of the house or outside of my home. Both machines have the knee lift which I can not live without. I person watching me sew without the knee lift would think I was having a spasm as my right knee assumes that the lift is there. I also have a high end Bernina serger and their first Embroidery machine. All of my machines have gotten used at least several times a week. I make at least 21 Linus quilts a month. At least half of them are created using the serger and the table set up Artista. The rest of my Linus quilts are fleece finished with a crocheted edge.