Greeting from (Great Bridge) Chesapeake! !
My DH and I are probably going on Sat or Sun to the show. I want to see if there are any Gidget II's available for sale and see the newest notions to add. It was on my Christmas list but Santa didn't leave it. I've ditched the generic crafts for needlework based hobbies, mainly counted cross stitch and adding quilting to the list.
I grew up under Grandma's quilts. And, my mom has her treadle which worked last I knew. My mom gave me her Singer 500 series machine about 5 years ago. When I was learning to sew in 7-8th grade, I burned the motor out of a used "black" Singer and the seamstress at the local Singer store told my mom to leave me alone and let me sew. I made quite a bit of my wardrobe back then. Dad was happy my allowance was spent on fabric. It also meant I got more as I was saving him retail prices on clothes.
I've never had a problem with Tidewater Sew Vac. It may be the store you are going to.