Am I in Trouble Here?

A couple of weeks ago, a friend told me about an sewing/embroidery machine someone he knew was selling (Brother 900D). My friend wants (knit) shirts with logos on them, didn't want to go back to his original supplier of several years ago, and thought it would be something I would be interested in doing.

Intrigued, I've spent every waking moment since then trying to educate myself about what's involved. Unfortunately, I won't be able to actually use the machine for about another week, and he needs his shirts by the middle of June at the absolute latest.

I live in a very small town that doesn't even have anything more than a basic store specializing in quilting supplies -- when I talked to them, I got sweet smiles :) -- so I'll have to travel at least 100 miles for supplies, or order online. The same holds true for getting service on the machine, or classes, or, pretty much, anything related to this project.

I called one store in the "big town" 100 or so miles away, but since I wasn't buying the machine from them, they didn't seem like they wanted to talk to me. When I asked them if they could tell me about stabilizers, they told me to take their class. I agree that I need to do that -- but I did kind of think if I showed them what kind of shirt I have, they would/could tell me what stabilizer I should use? Or am I wrong about that? I got a "Good grief, I'm talking to an idiot" kind of vibe from them -- or maybe it's just because I'm feeling like one. :D

I talked to a guy at the place that services these machines -- another town about 100 miles away -- and he was much nicer, but I could tell he had his reservations too. But he also told me that I could bring the machine in and they would help me figure it out, show me how to use it, and that they had all the supplies I would need, etc. I got a "Hey, yeah, you're an idiot, but let's see what we can do about that" vibe from *him!* :D

I'm going to go ahead and buy the machine -- I need/want a sewing machine anyway, and it seems we're getting a good deal on it.

I never thought it would be easy. I was and am willing to learn. But at this point, I'm concerned for my friend. I'm thinking I should tell him I can't get these done for him in time. Not having even used the machine yet, I'm not even sure this home machine is up to doing a professional job for him, not to mention my skill level, which at this point is zilch. And there's no way I can afford a commercial machine.

And -- since this all started, I've had several other people tell me they want me to do things for them, too! Though, thankfully, their deadlines are "whenever."

When I told my friend I didn't have a clue how to do machine embroidery, he said yes, he understood that, but he also knew I'd bend over backwards to make it "right." I'm thinking, at this point, making it "right" is telling him I can't do it right now? :confused: