Yes to no.4. I have a LA and my advise to ANYONE is find some one who has a LA and is willing to let you use it. I got mine and was so happy I couldn't wait to start useing it. Well the long and short of it is I HATE picking out and when someone tells you that you can sew in more thread in 5 min. than you can pick out in 5hrs. believe me thats true. So now my long arm set in my spare bedroom and I take my Quilts to a really good professional and I don't have to rip out threads. If I had been really smart I would of saved myself alot of money and flustration. Well we are all on our own learning curves. Good luck in what ever you decide.