I think you have been given excellent detailed advice, but I would like to add that you should give this decision some time. Give yourself a chance to explore ALL options including quilt as you go and using your embroidery machine. I have found that I love my Janome 14000 in embroidery mode for quilting "special" quilts and I am working on building my FMQ skills on my Juki 2010. Let yourself enjoy the process of evolving into what is most comfortable and enjoyable for you.

i have a HQ Avante long arm and dealing with the tension is pretty awful. I went to a busy quilt store the other day that does long arm work for customers and they had two long arms working on quilts. I asked if they ever had problems with the tension and the clerk said “All the time”. So if you are thinking about a long arm, be prepared. It’s not fun trying to fix the tension and it’s nothing like a regular sewing machine.

I w-a-n-t-e-d a longarm but I did not feel I could afford it. Like you, I wanted to “make the whole thing myself”. I rented from a couple local shops (different brand of machines). This only intensified my desire to own my own machine... :-). I did get my own machine, without the computer, and have never looked back.

Aside from cost and space, the most important reason for my decision on the brand of machine I bought was—local service and support!!! I am very happy with my machine, but again and most important, if I need assistance all I have to do is pick up the phone and make an appointment. I do not have to pack up my machine and mail it to Iowa or Utah or wherever they are made.

Do you have a photo of your foam insulation topper. Did you find a link for building your system?

It is so cheap and so, so easy! It just took a little time, and it's probably the best thing I've spent money on for our hobby.

Marguerita McManus has videos up on Youtube showing the tutorial for it. You custom build it for your sewing machine! So perfect. https://youtu.be/g14govA4pIM

She did a couple videos on it - I can't remember if you actually need to watch them all or not, but I did. You may not be able to find the super thick blue insulation that she used. I think the thickest they had at my home improvement store was maybe 1.25 inches? I can't remember now, but it's this purple/pink color with the pink panther on it :) I got the vinyl covering at my local big box store for a couple bucks. It was supposed to be a table protector/table cloth type thing. I used packing tape to tape it down around my foam so that the edges were covered. Just like wrapping a present.