Canada Kate

I have a Janome 4100QDC and am pretty happy with it, although the throat space is too small for a king sized quilt. I use this machine only for quilting and embroidering labels. I have two older Singer machines that I use for piecing (a 301A and a Featherweight). The Janome pieces just fine, but I just prefer my vintage machines for straight stitches becasue their bobbins hold more thead and well, I just like them.

Drawbacks of the 4100QDC: it only has one alphabet and the font size is fixed and not adjustible. It hates the invisible thread (the synthetic kind) and refuses to sew with it, but I understand this is the case with many machines, not just Janome. The throat/harp size as I mentioned before. It also does not like to sew into larger "bumps" where a series of seams intersect, like the centre of a pinwheel, for example. But, I am not always the best at nesting the seams, either. Sometimes I have to leave the needle down in the fabric, raise the foot and move the fabric up a little bit as the machine won't sew over the bump. Mine has an automatic locking stitch that is tempermental - sometimes it works and sometimes not. It also does not have a stitch regulator, but then again this isn't a high end machine. I think I paid about $800 CDN for it, including tax. So if I'm sewing really fast, the stitches get longer. I mitigate that by keeping the speed in the medium range. I wish the display of the alphbet characters and the corresponding numbers was on the screen and not on a plastic card that you can attatch to the top of the machine in one of the thread holders. And finally, the optional quilting table (that came with my machine as some kind of quilting promotion) just rests level with the free arm and moves around a lot as there is nothing to clamp it to the machine. It has rubber feet but that doesn't stop it from sliding around when I've got a large, heavy quilt dragging on top of it. I've given up on using it as it is more of a nusance than anything.

It's a perfectly good machine, and I think represents value for the money.

fmhall2

I am a devoted Pfaff fan. I had a 1473, which I gave to a friend when I got my Pfaff 7570 with embroidery unit. I love the Pfaff's. I have an older New Home (Janome made) which I let my students learn on, and I also have a Brother CS6000i which I let my students use, and which I also use. I love the buttonholes it makes. But best of all is my Pfaff. I am sold on Pfaffs. Hope this helps

kayluvs2quilt

I have the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0. My only complaint is that I HAVE to hold the thread when starting to sew. I cannot just put the fabric in and start to sew. I love the extra room to the right of the needle, needle up/down, thread cutter, threader, built in walking foot, variety of stitches. I don't know about sewing on *light* material but I have the single hole needle plate and would probably use it if I did any of that type of sewing. I have the extension table and when I am going to stitch the whole quilt I either paste wax the table or put the Supreme Slider on it so there is no drag on the quilt.

QuiltnLady1

I have the Janome 4120 and the 7700 -- I used to have the 6500. The 4120 is great for lighter weight fabric and has a lot of great features. The 7700 is a free arm with accufeed (which the 6600 also has-- this is a built in "walking foot"), but it is more money. I take the 4120 to quilting class and it works great, though it does struggle when a lot of seams intersect. The 7700 would probably eat fabric if I let it, but I always (on both machines) start sewing with a small (at least 1" square) scrap of fabric before I put my good fabric through the machine and I don't have a problem. The 7700 also has the single hole needle plate that is built in and slips out when you need it. It has more stitches (some really cool ones for doing little girls dresses). Here are a couple of places where you can get more Janome specific information:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Janome6500/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JanomeHorizon7700/

stitchingpost

I don't have any of those brands,but want to welcome you to the board anyway, from Ky

girlsfour

I am not much help either, but do own a Janome and love it. Welcome to the board.

Lavada

I know nothing about either machine but a great big welcome from the HAWKEYE state IOWA Good luck and Happy Quilting Lavada

valleyquiltermo

A big welcome from Mid-Missouri USA, Sorry I can't help you with the machines.

Judith

I have the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0 and love it! I have been sewing on Pfaff sewing machines for close to thirty years and there's no way you can go wrong with a Pfaff machine, especially one of that calibre. You could also go for a second hand Pfaff, just be sure that you get one with the IDT as it is really one of their best features. Can't help you out on the Janomes because I have never owned one.

GammaLou

Welcome from Michigan! I just have Babylocks so can't help with the decision, but I do have friends who love their Janomes.

Have a wonderful day in beautiful Milano