I have sewn for many years and could not wait to get an embroidery machine. When my DG passed away the money I received was spent on a nice machine. Took classes and I did use it a lot in the beginning but not so much any more. Mostly use the letters (for labels) and the fancy stitches for crazy quilts. Yes, it came with some designs and a hoop but all the other items are not cheap, stablizers, special thread, extra software, etc. If asked "would you buy one again", my answer would be no, I would get a machine with a wider throat, thread cutter, etc. My machine has been wonderful but I spent a lot of money for the amount of time the embroidery features have been used.