New brother! (sewing machine that is)

I finally unpacked my new Brother sewing machine! 

I received it as a Christmas gift from my parents because they knew that I was having trouble with my old one.
Last year I was very thankful to be given this old Singer from a friend's mother.

However, I had a lot of trouble working the knee pedal. The speed was very touchy and went from 0 to 60 with the slightest touch. It made sewing small and delicate things very difficult. I also recently tried to sew several spongy layers with it and somehow messed up the timing.

Although I appreciated the solid construction and simplicity of the Singer, my new Brother has so many new features and conveniences. I am still not used to how wonderful it is just to be able to have complete control over the speed. Aside from just being able to sew (yay!) it also threads itself, threads the bottom bobbin and comes with pre-programmed decorative stitching.

Another thing that I wanted to share today is my crafting space. My lovely roommates have not objected to me taking over one corner of the living room for my crafting stuff.

As you can see, I have quite a bit of crafting supplies and there are several other boxes and bags not pictured.  Of course I would love to have my own crafting room and I love to drool over well-lit and organized crafting spaces but this is definitely a step up from trying to fit anything that I could in a cramped dorm room!

I would love to know your opinions on sewing machines new and old.

Which do you prefer to work with and what brands do you think are best?

I have heard that the new Singers are not as good as the old.

Do you have a crafting space and how do you keep it organized?

I'm forced to be contained since I am in the main living space and I'd probably explode if I had a whole room!

As always,