Someone asked if I got a new machine and I did!
I ended up going with the Brother Celeste Embroidery Machine for such a ridiculously low price that I just couldn't pass it up (trust me a whole lot less than the pre-sale promotions of $5999+). I couldn't believe it when dealer quoted the price to me but she stated only downside was that I had to wait a week for one to be ordered. Umm, okay what was a week to me for more than a thousand less than promotion price. And the next week later I was the proud owner of a new model embroidery machine.
That was in September. I've had some health issues and was just able to take it out of the box yesterday so haven't had a lot of time to play. So far though it has nice stitches but will be a big learning curve from my 29 year old Brother Pc-82/8500 machine that I hadn't touched in years. Wish me luck that I remember hooping, stabilizers, etc.