Oh! That was my first machine too. I love the "Touch and Throw" description. It was enough to lose your religion over. When I got married and my mother-in-law saw that machine almost run, she told me that I needed a new one ASAP. I can still see her look of horror as I cut the fabric off the plate.
I learned a lot from that experience. Never, ever let someone else pick your machine for you. Someone told my parents that this would be a good one because of brand reputation. This is one of those "should never have happened" piece of engineering as far as I am concerned.
Try to always test the exact machine you are walking away with because there is the occassional blooper in any brand.