Skratchie

Smartest woman here! ;-)

sassysews2

Sorry, ladies, this was from a Leah Day website, not someone else's opinion, don't remember the web address but it was one I found this week when I googled Leah Day for machine reviews, & the plate isn't the problem, (I have a single hole plate) it's the wide feet feed. The feed is wider than any of the feet and the fabric, in this case, piecing 2" squares, feeds unevenly, pulling to the left side & barely touching the right of the fabric with a 1/4" seam. I found several reviews on line with the same problem. It's the same (opposite) principle with the featherweight & why most walking feet won't work. Most walking feet advertised as fitting the FW won't because the foot is wider than the narrow FW feeds. Ask me how I know this, I have a drawer full of walking feet that won't fit. As far as donating, I'm not in a position to donate a $1,000 machine (that's an average e-bay price) & I have a small Janome for classes but I'd have to unpack it and repack it several times a month & the weight (too light) isn't practical for use full time. But thanks, everyone, for your input. Second opinions always welcome.

nlpakk

I do piecing and free motion quilting on my Pfaff 2034 with no problem. It does take me a bit to get the FMQ foot attached but I think that's me. I do keep my older Pfaff 1209 on a table next to me that I wind bobbins on so I don't have to interrupt whatever I'm doing. They both use the same bobbin. I'm fortunate to have enough room to keep them plus a Singer 201 in a cabinet ready to sew. I should say the 2 Pfaff's are just sitting on a table. Yes the single needle throat plate is wonderful and helps make much nicer stitches, I don't understand why but it does.

nlpakk

I bought a generic 1/4" foot for my Featherweight and it works just fine and I use it alot and it also fits my Singer 201.

ania755

Me too !!!!, its an awesome machine....!!!!

Geri B

Curious...what is it that makes you unhappy with 8900? just trying to make a decision myself

Skratchie

My chief complaint is the weirdness of the Acufeed foot. Last night I had a lot of problems with thread breaking - I haven't had that problem in a few weeks, but last night it was a major pain. I think it might have been the thread - this machine does NOT like Coats & Clark cotton thread at all; I have consistent breaks when trying to use it, regardless of needle type/size. I get best results with Aurifill and Mettler. For me, decorative threads are a real pain to work with, and I like using them on quilt tops, again regardless of the needle type/size. Also not really crazy about the stitch quality at times - the decorative stitches start out well but then get weird the further along you go with them. A few other things I don't really care for, but I'm not crazy about the feet primarily. As someone else said on another board, there is no really good point of reference on them because so many are rounded. Some owners have complained that the Accufeed foot plate falls off and/or has broken during sewing but I've not had THAT problem thank goodness!

On the flipside, I DO like the harp/throat space, and the quick change throat plate. I also can get a true quarter inch seam, after I made a couple of adjustments, and then saved them. And believe it or not, I do like to FMQ with this machine (though I have limited experience with other machines doing FMQing) as long as I'm using a thread type the machine likes. Most of the problems I mentioned above have been when I'm piecing, which I've found odd.

I'm still on the fence about keeping it - I've thought about keeping it set up as a FMQ machine but I've made no decision. I have, however, ordered a Brother VM 5100 DreamCreator machine that I will pick up on March 14th. I'm thinking I'll decide if I want to keep the Janome after I have the DC and have used it a bit.