My Bernina is a 1971 807. My mum bought it before my older brother was born – she said she bought this model because she wanted to be able to sew jeans. I started to sew on it at around 3 or 4. I made dolls clothes and barely cobbled together things with mum’s scraps. We were always encouraged to create. I very clearly remember her telling me I could adjust any of the dials, but Don’t Touch the Tension! I made a lot of my own clothes as a teenager. Mum made us costumes for school, my first communion dress and a few ball gowns on it. I have a lot of memories of her staying up late to finish something for me. When I left home, it came with me and is still the only sewing machine I’ve owned. The pic is from 1976.