Featherweights in my area run $200+.  A quilter friend of mine with two said they can go into the $600+ range.  IMO, if the machine runs well and has been recently in for a cleaning and tune-up I'd go for it.  If it hasn't been serviced recently check it out carefully first.  Test some fabrics through it.

As far as features, I recall my friend saying hers does straight and zig zag stitches with a buttonhole option.  The buttonhole option may require additional accessories.  If you can get the model number try a google search and you should be able to get more info.

I wonder if the ends of ribbon are fastened by velcro or a hidden snap. 

I love that it has lots of pockets!

I guess that makes me wonder how you avoid bitey/grabey elastic. I had some underwear that my grandma made for me when I was a girl and I avoided wearing them like they were the plague, because they had really bitey elastic. I recent modified a bra I had bought that was a good fit, but the seams were bitey. (I stitched in a line of fleece over the seam.) What leads to that? Does anyone know? Has anyone tried using the elastic collars of t-shirts as the elastic in a stitched item?

Was the elastic against your skin?  That can be corrected by making a casing for the elastic.  If the elastic was in casing then maybe gramma used less elastic than what you needed?

The underwear I've been buying lately is t-shirt type material and a casing at the top with enclosed elastic rather than the cheapie undies that have the fancy elastic sewn to the top of the fabric.

I've been able to find pattern boxes at JoAnn's and Hancock Fabrics.  I don't remember Joann's price but HF has them 2 for $5 and are the right height and width for most patterns including McCalls which their envelopes run a bit wider than Simplicity and Butterick.

Do a google search for cool ties or neck coolers.  The ties are tubes of fabric filled with polymer granules.  The polymer absorbs tons of water which helps keep a person cool during the warm months.  They're pretty cheap and easy to make.

If you do them I'd keep a set of ties soaking in chilled water in a cooler to let customers try them out at the fair.  I was at a winter indoor fair when it was -20*F and the lady selling the rice heating pads had a tough time keeping up with the sales because people were warming up with them during the fair.

I may have to try adding some herbs to my next batch of bread.  I like the plain kind but with the herb garden starting it would be a good chance to try a little variety. 

If you're interested in learning the why behind baking, take a peek at Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here for More Food" which explains a lot of what happens with baking.  Something that is as "simple" as learning eggs keep cooking after they're removed from heat helped me from over-baking.  Many libraries have copies to check out.

I've made crocheted fingerless gloves that I wear while knitting or crocheting.  They give enough range of motion to keep stitching and the extra warmth helps my hands from cramping up.

I've not heard of a yeast-free pizza dough so this question interests me. 

Breads either have yeast or chemical leaveners (baking soda, baking powder) to make the bread rise, rarely both.  I had to add the baking powder in the search or I'd get just yeast recipes.  With that in mind, a search for both 'pizza dough' and 'baking powder' brought up this recipe:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1941,153172-247207,00.html

In poking around further I saw someone mention using Bisquick for the crust and I found this Bisquick recipe for pizza. http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/extra-easy-pizza/689039a4-8c43-4a9e-9d48-27b1b0dda2c3

And last but not least, a thread from Amazon with the same question. http://askville.amazon.com/make-pizza-dough-yeast/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=4742747


As for your yeast dillema there's two things you can try to prevent killing it from heat.  The cheap way is to use tap water that feels no warmer than body temperature or slightly cool to the touch.  For more accuracy try a candy thermometer but be careful of going over about 100*F as anything higher may kill the yeast. 

If the yeast is old it's already dead.  Storing it in the fridge or freezer will give it a longer shelf life. The date on the package is a guideline but the best way to see if the yeast is alive is to proof it first before adding all of the ingredients.

To "proof" your yeast means to add the water and yeast (and sugar if the recipe calls for it) together and let it sit.  If you don't see bubbles after about 5 minutes then it's a dud. No bubbles means it's time to start over with a fresh packet of yeast.  Either the yeast is old or the water was too hot and it won't make your bread rise. 

I would have definitely had a big piece of that yummy-ness!

My best guess as to what happened with the frosting is maybe the cake wasn't cool enough.  It needs to be room temperature or lower or the frosting won't stick.  Then again I've never tried spray-on frosting.  I'll have to check it out.