Welcome to the site from New Hampshire! You are going to love your new hobby! It will take over your life however, but that's a good thing! Give a look at Janome sewing machines. I have one and all my quilting friends too (we all have different models and levels of machines, but we all love them). I have Carol Doak's book and I love it. If you have any questions or problems with quilting bring them here. There is a lot of experience on this board and everyone is so nice. Don't forget to post pictures of your quilts if you can. We like to see what everybody is working on.