pieceandjoy: I have the same model machine. I was influenced by Alex Anderson. She's the reason I got into quilting in the first place. My machine is even the Alex Anderson model! My only criticism of this machine is that the knee lift doesn't stay in the port it should, and the semi-automatic needle threader is too fussy. I always bend the little wire and so have to thread by hand. It's not a big thing.
I'm with you on the constant "climb" of features. I don't want to embroider. And I hate a machine that's smarter than I am! I bought a 570 QE, which has some improvements I like, such as the larger throat area, the better light, and the stitch regulator. But why did this quilter's edition not come with a walking foot, but it did come with a buttonhole foot? Strange.
Leslie