I love my 6600. I did not know I needed a new machine - had been sewing on my old Bernina since 1977, but hubby felt guilty when he bought a new sax, and the next thing I knew, I had the 6600. I have been using it heavily since then, and am so happy to have the foot down feature, my knee lift, the walking foot, and many types of stitches. I have done applique happily with it - it has several versions of the blanket type stitch. I highly recommend it!