New Sewing Machine

The other thing that happened during our museum trip a couple weekends ago is, I bought a new sewing machine!

This is the Janome Horizon 8200, and I got a screamin' deal on it at The Sewing Machine Shop in Walnut Creek, which was on our way to Sacramento.  

The main things that sold me on this particular machine were the heavy duty motor, variable speed control, and the 11" throat. I quilt all my own quilts, many of them bed size, and all this room is like heaven to me!

 Look at this, I barely had to roll my quilt! 

Other great features are a drop-in bobbin, which you can see when its running low,  excellent lighting, automatic thread cutter, a needle threader that actually works and is easy. Another really cool thing is the stitch-in-the-ditch attachment for the walking foot, which makes that particular chore a breeze, and so much more accurate. Of course it has the knee-lift, and tons of really cool stitches.

I can't say enough about The Sewing Machine Shop. Compared to the other (closer) places I considered, their staff is the most knowledgeable, helpful and honest - and patient. They do not pressure you to buy, or try to up-sell you. They have the most models on the floor to try out, and they know their machines well. Their prices are very competitive. They offer an array of classes, and drop-in workshops. They service their machines in house. If this wasn't enough, they offered me a very generous trade-in on my Bernina 150, which was barely limping along with a bent needle bar (a whole 'nother story ~).

The two other machines I tried out were  the MC6300, which I still think is a really decent machine at a great price.

MC6300

It has great basic features including a heavy duty motor, a decent array of stitches, speed control, and a nine-inch throat. Its packaged up with lots of extra goodies which makes it an even sweeter deal. You can look it up on Amazon for more particulars and reviews.

The next step up is the  MC6600

MC6600

which features the Acu-feed system, which is like a built-in walking foot. Which I never did really figure out the point of. I think its more for regular sewing, like on slippery fabrics, rather than for quilting.

Anyway, for "a few dollars more" I got the one with the eleven inch throat, which makes me the happiest gal on earth at the moment!

Maybe I'll get some sewing done before the summer ends!