Tashana

I have the same machine that I bought about 8 years ago. It is inexpensive Singer 5050. It does not have needle down but you can always turn the hand wheel and put it down. It has many stitches of which I use two. It has a bobbin winderer and takes many singer model bobbins without any issue. It gulps any thread I throw at it and is compatible with Japanese made no-name feet sold by Joann's which are about half price than original Singer. It is mindnumbingly easy to clean and maintain by yourself. The motor is in metal housing. They are still sold today and they are workhorses. I quilt queen size quilts on it, but that is maximum. I do lots of Fmq and I also make clothing. If I were you I would not worry about 1/4" seam just yet but I would work on the consistency of the seam width. For example, the width of the regular Singer sewing foot is a smidgen bigger than 1/4". Most of my quilts are my design so I pretty much ignore the 1/4" rule but I am very consistent with the seam width. When I need to work off a pattern I mark my 1/4 inch with a stack of post it's or similar and off I go. I can recommend you Singer 5050 because it will give you lots of bang for your buck. I believe this model is still about $200. Good luck!