Originally Posted by bearisgray
Take pictures of the tops - give them an IOU and bake some cookies or make some candy to give to them.
I agree. Anyone receiving a whole quilt for a gift is a truly blessed person! Give them a photo to hold onto until you can get them finished. They surely will understand "mechanical difficulties."
If however, you don't want to do this, try getting one of the 'cheapies' that sell for under $100 at Walmart etc, even some Hardware stores have them. It will help you finish, and you'll have a reliable backup machine should a crisis happen again.