Sewing Parts Online has a video about how to use a shirring foot, and the demo person, Sara, definitely pronounces it "shearing". As you say, they probably don't have any that shear sheep, but it might be a regional pronunciation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbyJxbv-D5I
You won't be needing it for quilting, but any question you might have about how to use different sewing attachments are probably answered by these videos.
There are a lot of excellent videos demonstrating both the basics and more advanced techniques, for example:
https://www.youtube.com/user/lcvday
Toyota sewing machines have been made since 1946, according to their website, but it also says: "Now it's available in the United States," so I assume they were not available here until recently. Wikipedia has an informative article about the company, which started out making looms before making cars, and they still make looms, too!