Ok, let's do the math, machingers are usually around $8., bobbin genies are $10, so this would make the silicone slide $32. If you get a heavy piece of vinyl it will work as good or better than the silicone slide. I love my machingers, don't use the bobbin genies (my Juki quilter doesn't have a drop-in bobbins. I made a cheap 4'x 4' table for my quilting machine, used foam insulation boards to bring it up the the bed level of my machine, they were already cut to 2' x 4' pieces and were about $20 at Home Depot and covered the entire top with the heavy vinyl from walmart and it was less than $10. The silicone slides that I have seen are pretty small. I'm thinking if you got a 1/4 yard of the vinyl it would probably make 2 or 3 of the silicone slides and would only be about $2.00. So, I suggest you buy the machingers, use the rest of the money to make a good quilting table. Also, you will want to set higher at your machine than for regular sewing. Good luck you will love FM quilting (my favorite part).