What fun to read all the responses to this thread!! Hope I'm not too late to join in!! This brings such sweet memories... Momma was a wonderful seamstress for me and my two sisters... she made almost ALL of our clothes and they were beautiful. I had no interest in sewing (or any kind of domestication) then, but she insisted I learn, so off to Home-Ec I went in the 9th grade. I was too stubborn to stay with it, but I learned so much and kept sewing at home with Momma's Singer. I don't know what model, but I remember her excitement when Daddy bought a new machine. She later discovered Bernina's and a new Bernina 830 Record was my college graduation gift in 1975. I've sewn a bunch of Halloween costumes, Holiday dresses and cute childrens clothes for our DD and DS... only after she was gone did I discover the joy of quilting and that was with a friend whose mother also sewed and quilted. Momma was just getting into quilting when she got sick. I don't remember struggling with any aspects of the machine, but I can still hear Momma saying, "Don't TOUCH that tension!!!!!" It brings a smile to my face!!! I learned to quilt the old-fashioned way at first... templates, cutting each piece, hand piecing... then discovered a wonderful LQS and took a class and, while I cherish the hand-piecing ability, I love the faster rotary cutting and machine piecing. Have recently begun hand quilting which I also love. What joy... what a blessing...