Walt...you can go to the Janome site direct to check out any of their machines and what they do exactly. Go to:
http://janome.com/index.cfm and to their machine department and find any/all their machines. It states that the machine she has will sew thru thick fabrics, etc...I'd say it a good thing:))I've never heard any complaints on the Janomes...you did good Walt!! Skeat