Hi Jim, welcome from Rhode Island. I love the Janome sewing machines, but thats me.

My wife and I did a "Test Drive" on the Janome 12000 on Saturday - we were both able to be on a machine since it wasn't full. The machine is impressive, but ... We decided to not get it at this time. We are still looking at Janome and may get a lower model model, maybe even a used machine someone traded in. My wife did buy an old Viking today off of Craigslist that was similar to one she used for years that her mom gave her. She used it until the cams wore out. This one was $100 which is slightly less than the 12000... We are also going to try a Babylock Evolve at a class on Wed that a friend of hers bought but never used. It's a great deal on that.