Grammie Sharon

My hubby took me out to look at new machines. I have an Elna that's 35 years old. We looked at the Elna 7200, Janome Horizon, Janome Memory Craft 6600, and the Laura Ashley by Brother. I would appreciate any pros/cons, comments to any of these listed. It is sew confusing. Thanks for your help.

tjradj

I have 2 Janomes. My first one is the Janome Quilter's Choice 6260 that is 3 years old. It doesn't have a very big harp space *6 1/2"* for a 'quilters' machine, but it is a work horse. I use it with a walking foot for piecing but also do some freemotion on it and it works well.
I added the Janome Horizon this summer. I love it. It was very easy to learn, probably because I'm familiar with Janome. She is big! The 11" harp will take anything you throw at her. But, she is a computerized machine, and they can be divas. If I ask her to go through a very thick seam, it balks as if to say "ooh, I don't want to do that." But if you use the wheel to get through the tough areas then it takes off again no prob. I even use her on my quilting frame.
The only thing I would change on the Horizon would be where the knee lifter is. Because she has such a long base, the knee lifter is way over to the right - so far that even with my long legs, I don't use it. If it were closer to the needle I would use it.
I looked at the Pfaff HQ but decided against it mainly because the harp is only 9" and because I 'know' the Janome brand. I did follow a Pfaff Yahoo group for a while and there was a lot of complaining going on. So I stayed with Janome, and I would highly recommend them.

peacebypiece

Have fun! Interview the dealers, preferably near you. Inquire about instruction, maintenance, repairs, etc. Also, TRY EACH MACHINE before you make a decision. I could be free, but I wouldn't want it if it's difficult to work with. Is the dealer close enough in case you need something that nobody else sells. I once worked in a store that sold Viking and Singer. Ladies frequently asked for parts for an odd brand machine they had purchased umpteen years ago in a small town about 75 miles from here. Duhh? Also, don't be overly impressed with an unbelievable number of built-in stitches. Most people don't use many of them anyway. If you haven't needed that stitch so far, you probably won't ever use it.

Maia B

Honestly, all good choices. My understanding is that Janome makes Elna now. So the Elna 7300 is like the Janome 6600 and the Elna eXcellence 740 is like the Horizon with a few features +/- . All the machines you mention have great reputations. So go sew and choose, remembering how critical dealer support is with high-end machines. But there are no bad choices in what you mentioned, IMO.

cmw0829

Ooohhhhh...how exciting!! The only comment I can offer is that I heard the Brother's aren't up to the same quality standards as they had been in the past.

I can't 100% remember where I heard that though I think it might have had something to do with my sewing machine dealer having dropped them from the lineup.

Enjoy your search!

sewingsuz

Be sure to pick on close to you if they offer classes.

Chele

I've heard lovely things about Janome's Horizon machine. Since your Elna served you well, I'd check that one out too. Test drive them and let us know what you think. I bet you're excited to have a new toy! Lots of fun in store for you!

Maia B

Absolutely use patternreview.com to read reviews on the machines. I have only heard good things about the Brother Laura Ashley NX-2000. There's a new Brother Laura Ashley NX-800 also. Brother has got a great rep for embroidery. They make a lot of cheaper models, including some for big box stores and Internet sales, that might be hurting their rep, but I wouldn't worry about these ones. Actually, I have a $200 Brother HS 2000 for my kids and it's great too. I think Brother makes Babylock. The BL Symphony seems quite similar to the LA NX-2000. One nice thing about that model is all the included accessories.

Candace

If I were in the market for a new machine (I'm not) I'd be seriously test driving the Horizon.