New Addition To The Family

In my last post, I mentioned that I was thinking of buying a new sewing machine. Right after I started thinking that, I saw a post by Rachel at http://www.stitchedincolor.com/2012/02/how-to-buy-sewing-machine.html Stitched In Color about that very same subject. She tried out several machines, and she took some quilting with her. So, armed with her list, and with a quilt sandwich and some piecing, I headed out to the shops. I first stopped at the store near my Joann Fabrics. They sell Pfaff, Brother, and Viking, and to be truthful, I wanted a Viking. I've heard a lot about how reliable they are. The salesperson sat me down in front of the Viking Sapphire 875, and I started to sew. Wow. Sewing machines have come a long way! Automatic lock stitch, automatic cut, a host of other things my machine didn't have. I loved, loved, loved the way this machine sewed. However, the one big drawback at that point was the price - $2199 sale price. Wow. I wanted to stay around $1000, and was willing to go up to $1500 if I found something I really loved. Well, I really loved this machine, but more than doubling my budget gave me the willies. I played around with it for an hour, and then said that I would have to think it over. I checked it out on the web when I got home, and was very disappointed to find that the machines were not made in Sweden anymore, and have been having quality control issues for the last few years. Sigh. Back to the drawing board.

A few days later, I head out to another dealer. This dealer sells Janomes, brothers, and a host of used, reconditioned machines. There were machines everywhere in this store! As a matter of fact, there was everything all over this store. It made me nervous initially, and I was just getting ready to ditch this place, when someone asked me what I was looking for. They sat me down in front of a Janome 6600P. Now, I don't know anyone who has a Janome, and I'd only heard of them in passing. Brought out my assorted quilt pieces and started to sew. It sewed really nice, but I wasn't sure at this point. I figured I needed to go do a bit more research. I thanked them for their time, and they asked me if I'd like to take one home and sew on it for a week. Huh? I'd never heard of a store doing this, but I said yes (Duh! Would you say no to that?) I figured I was getting a store demo to take home, but what I got was a brand new, still in the box Janome! Took it home, set it up, and the rest is history!

I loved it, and it was in my budget - they extended the sale price til the end of the week for me! I quilted a table quilt, did a fair amount of piecing, and tried out many of the stitches and feet.

This machine comes with 9 inches of harp space, and a large extension table that gives me about 15 inches on the left side of the needle. It has a built in walking foot, which was excellent! So many options. I don't know where to start! I love the thread lock, and the thread cutter. It came with a 1/4" foot, which is accurate! My patches have never looked better.