I went to the Houston Quilt Festival for the first time last year. I've been quilting almost a year at that point. I found stencils and thread (Aurifil) for a quilt in progress, but my real find was a sewing cabinet. It was great to be able to compare 5 different brands. I went with Koala. I'm going again this year and planning to look at and compare
sewing machines, but I don't think I will be purchasing, at least not this year.