I learned to sew on my mother's sewing machine when I was 12 years old. It was a Necci German sewing machine that was made in 1953. I sewed on her machine until I was 20 and she bought me my own which was the basic Brother for Christmas, I remember how excited I was because it had a zig zag stitch. To this day my mother still has the sewing machine in the cabinet and it is in mint condition and she still uses it for small projects. I remember as a kid she made all our Sunday dresses to match (I have 3 sisters) and all of the drapes and pillows, Halloween costumes etc. She never was a quilter but she sure is a beautiful seamstress. Thanks for posting this question, it allowed me to find out more about the machine and reminisce about my early sewing days.