, a knee lifter for lifting the presser foot so you can keep both hands on your work, and one of the greatest things every put on a sewing machine, an automatic thread cutter.
I have a Janome 6500 and it has a thread cutter and knee lifter. The threader works great too even after 11 yrs of continuous use. It has the auto foot up or down. The bed is also large and flat. You can maybe have some one cut a hole in an old table and then make something so you can drop the machine in it. this might aid your need too.
I owned this machine for 11 yrs and use it daily. It is also a wonderful go to for sit down quilting. I now have a long arm but I quilted 120 in. x 120 in. quilts on this machine.
http://www.amazon.com/Janome-6500P-M...KC93097E78SXDB
It looks like your other Janome was an embroidery machine? This one is especially for quilting.