Haven't read all the posts but the first time I tried to straight line quilt without a walking foot was a disaster!!! Fabric scrunched up in front of foot all over the place. I bought a generic one for $25 twenty years ago. I have since bought another generic one and I think it was around $15. I can't even sew on binding without my walking foot. By the way, the prices on the Brother site were way more than you can get a generic foot somewhere else.