The Chicago Quilt show is put on by Quilts Inc. They have 3 shows a year, and they are pretty much the biggest shows of the year. Their show in Houston in the fall is pretty much the Super Bowl of the quilting world. Placing a quilt in that show has started many careers. The show in Houston is so large that we stay over night in a hotel just to really see everything.
Anything and everything will be available for you to test drive, you pick the price range and you'll find something that you can't live without. You'll see stuff you didn't even know existed. Many vendors use QI shows to introduce new products.