I've machine sewed off and on since jr. high school but nothing fancy. The rod in my spare closet collapsed about 2 years ago because I had too much hanging from it. I had to take everything out of the closet in order to fix the problem. Lo and behold, I found my 25 year old Kenmore on the floor of the closet and thought I should bring it in to have it tuned up. It cost $89.95 to tune it up and I told the women I think I only paid about $99 for it brand new so I didn't think it was worth it. She convinced me it would cost about $300-$400 to replace my old Kenmore for a comparible one today so I went ahead and got it tuned up. When I picked it up I said to myself, now what am I going to do with it? I got the idea that I would like to make a quilt so went to Joann's the same day and bought a book on making quilts and bought the basic tools. From that point on, I've been hooked...no turning back now! Although I have to say I've upgraded the old Kenmore to a Viking and a Janome.