I think 9 patch is a perfect start block, and yours is so cute.

Good fabric choices. That will be a delightul quilt.
I'm in about the same boat as you are on fabrics, with 5 stores, all 60-70 miles away. My first quilting machine was a lemon of a Bernina, which also lasted 3 years. I upgraded to a Janome 1600P, which is very solidly made. Dealer opened up and showed DH construction of several major brands in the store for repairs. If you are doing serious sewing and can't afford a solid new machine, I would suggest going to garage sales. Lots of good older machines sell for $25-50. IMHO, the low end machines from Walmart etc are a waste of money.

very lovely 9-patch --great colors to work with.

Adorable combination of colors!!! Can't wait to see it when you are finished!

Good idea to start out with the 9 patch. You've picked beautiful colors and your blocks look great.