It did concern me when I saw all the negative reviews-- but I made the leap anyway! I was frustrated with it for about 20 minutes (I'm not terribly mechanically inclined) but my hubby helped me set it up and get started. After that, it worked PERFECTLY! I consider myself a pretty impatient person... which is why I wanted a MACHINE rather than sticking with hand knitting! I would definitely recommend this to anyone. Just read the directions and watch the video!! It took me less than 1 evening to be knitting like a pro! and by the end of the evening, I had a big part of my blanket done (which I could never have done in one evening handknitting). Very happy with my purchase.