I recently decided to revisit my old hobby of sewing. I had a perfectly okay Brother sewing machine but the more I was using it, the more I became conscious of the many functions that newer sewing machines have that mine definitely didn’t. Some of the features that I won’t be willing to do without that this machine has include snap-on/snap-off presser feet, making a switch from one stitch type to another a matter of seconds rather than minutes; a drop-in bobbin that removes the need to fiddle with the upper thread/needle to pull up the bobbin thread before starting to sew as well as virtually ending the common problem of the bobbin thread snagging inside the machine; a library of stitches that come pre-programmed with optimal stitch length and width… selecting a stitch always starts with the preferred default values every time you select it; a better design for the the upper thread loading. They have somehow designed the unit so that the thread will automatically find itself on the correct side of the path being threaded instead of, as my older machine needed, requiring me to fiddle with flywheel on the right of the machine to get the different parts in the correct orientation to pass the thread around the parts correctly.; a built-in overstitch stitch for fray-prone fabrics; and lastly, the option to either use the foot peddle to control the speed of the stitches or choose to use the programmable stitch speed control for those of us who find their excitement, anxiety, or simple lack of patience leading to what feels like a high-speed chase where your current stitches are the barely in control car careening around the mountainous ess-curves, inches away from flying off into the valley below. This machine is well made, well designed, and wonderfully lightweight. I think it is a great starter machine for those wanting to learn the skills and tricks of sewing.