I am so sorry about your mom. Please accept my deepest sympathies for your loss.
My mom has a Nolting 18 inch machine. She lets me use it when I want to quilt a large quilt. I really like how the Nolting handles. When she first got it, Nolting let me go to her lessons with her since I worked at a quilt shop and could advertise for them that way. It was a real learning experience. I have played on other brands at quilt shows but I think I would go with a Nolting. The Iowa MFG plant is just over an hour away so service would be really handy for me. Service is a big thing with any machine. I think they are like a car....you would drive your car without regular maintainence and your sewing machine is the sanme way. You know what you want. Shop around and take your time so you get the machine you want. Good luck.