you guys are awesome!! sorry for posting and running but we went down to portland (i live in seattle) to get it and stayed for the weekend, just got in tonight.
it is POURING rain and i don't want to bring it in until the rain stops so it's staying in the trunk for now. i'm excited to use it but the timing for getting this is kind of busy because i've been pretty busy and have had the worst headache of my life for over two weeks, so i'm not quite ready to jump into something so daunting.
honestly, unfortunately the reason i went so long without a machine was that there was a family emergency right after my machine broke -- my grandmother had a heart attack and i went to ontario to be with her and so i was there for six weeks caring for her *and* my dad, who had a heart attack while i was there. it was all really stressful and to be honest, i came back a different person. then my grandmother died and i was even more changed and for months i didn't do much of anything. then i took up knitting and i guess that distracted me for a while.
also, i am very new to quilting. i started, made a couple simple things, then it broke. i didn't want to put money into that machine and knew a good one would become available at some point, i just kept calling stores to check in.
anyway, now i'll be back. i started piecing a top for my dad right before my machine broke and when i he had his heart attack and i learned his heart kept stopping on the operating table, one of my first thoughts was "he can't die, i didn't get to finish that quilt!"