Hi Karen, and welcome from Southern California. Having a longarm will open new sewing vistas for you. There's a long learning curve and going online will be a big help, especially if you're not buying from a nearby dealer. I'm lucky that my son keeps mine in good working order. I've downloaded lots of classes from Craftsy/Bluprint, no longer in business. Corona 19 is giving me the opportunity to look at them and become better at long arming. Good luck!