Well, I did it! We made our trip to San Marcos to SMP. We had spoken on the phone with one of the salespeople there before the trip and she was very, very informative. We met up with her. When we arrived there was a monthly meet and greet/show and tell going on at the store, where regular customers would meet up and show off their latest projects and to hear the latest news in the sewing world.
They had food catered for the event, which is nice. We sat down at several machines and went through the demos and some sewing. She showed me the Janome 12000 just for kicks. Great machine, but way over my budget and I'm not looking for an embroidery machine at this time.
She then showed me the Janome Horizon 7700, which I really liked. The 11" inch harp space and the free arm were exactly what I was looking for. It did have a little trouble with the bulky seam denim test, but the machine didn't have in a denim needle or thread when we ran that test. I didn't even ask her to show me the 6600, as I felt that I liked the Horizon.
She then showed me the Juki F600. Wow, this puppy is super quiet! It just purrs when I sew on it, and it went through the layers of denim without a hitch. The denim needle wasn't on, but she did use a sharp needle and it was perfectly fine. It was definitely more a workhorse of a machine. I really liked that one as well.
So, DH and I thought about it and we decided to take the Janome Horizon 7700 and the Juki F600. We were about to seal the deal until DH reminded me of the Bernina 820 that the owner had pointed out to us when we walked in. It had just come into the store as a trade in. They just got done servicing it and it was clean. It had everything and all the original packaging it came in. They even unpacked it out of the box for me and the machine looked in better condition than the floor model they had out. All for a price that was a total steal. Berninas have never been in my radar, mainly because of the price. They took it out for me and unboxed it. They showed me a demo and let me sew on it. I was in love.
So, we talked about it again for another 15 minutes. I had my iPad with me, so I did some quick research. Then we decided, I wanted the Bernina. I was nervous, the price was too good to be true, but it came had a warranty. But I figure it was a BERNINA! We told them our decision. Fast forward, we ended up with the Bernina 820 and the Juki F600 as a back up and take to class machine for me. We also got 36 months of 0% financing, which was EASILY doable for us. They totally made it worth our while for making a drive down to see them.
After we paid, I sat down with the service guy and he gave me a class on how to use the Bernina. He was very thorough, provided me great tips that weren't in the manual. Also made me sit down and do it as well until I got it right. He recommended that I should schedule a class whenever I can to sit with their Bernina instructor so learn the machine more in depth, as they offer free lifetime classes.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience. Since it was my first grown up machine purchase, I wanted to take my time to try out and pick the best one for me. We got there around 10:30a and didn't leave the store until after 5p. My salesperson and the owner were very patient, and not once did I feel pressured on having to buy something. If I had felt any pressure, I would've just turned around and walked out. I didn't get a chance to visit the Eleanor Burns quilt store in the area, since we were there for so long, but there's always another trip.
