I like mine. You do need a different blade for cutting fabric vs paper. You don't need dies, Silhouette posts a free design every week and the Silhouette store sells designs very cheap...usually .99. Check out the Silhouette Blog, there are many tutorials with pictures on there. You might get a better idea of what the machine can do. It's very portable so for me I would rather have this cut my applique out for me than me doing it. I got mine at a quilting shop so you may be able to find a shop that has them and have them demo it for you.