Lovin...have you ever thought of buying a good used machine?
I have two Bernina's that I bought over the years that are fantastic machines. I just bought a 1230...took it to the Bernina dealer to have it checked out. He told me that it was a "great" machine...if I were buying it today, it would cost about $2,200. Well, I paid $400. The older machines weren't made of all plastic. Just something you might consider.