I mostly only do applique quilts and I have a Viking Sapphire 870. I love the pivot feature that it has and I can't imagine doing applique without it. It also has needle up/down, start/stop and a thread cutter. I bought mine for $1600 and that included the walking foot.

Is it okay to suggest group for your specific machine? Well, maybe not so pm me if interested. There is a group specifically for the 6600P. I think they could help you find the stitch you require to do any applique you can think of. I absolutely love my 6600. I am slow at applique so use the med speed, but the high speed goes really fast. I would think it would be fast enough. Hmmm not sure why you would get rid of a 6600.

I'm sorry I don't think I explained myself very well. I love the Janome but when I bought it I planned on using it for everything, quilting & applique (it was to replace the 2 machines I had been using, the Bernina 930 & the Brother 1500Q). When I bought the Janome last year I had hoped it would do everything I wanted hence 1 machine. But after using the Brother 1500Q, the Janome was toooo slow for the the FMQ that I do. So I was back to using the Brother for quilting and the Janome for applique, hence 2 machines again. At this point I have too many machines & need to get rid of something. I have decided to keep the Brother 1500Q for FMQ as it does beautiful work, not picky abt thread, is super fast & easy to maintain. I want a lighter weight machine, I have back problems & I also have Fibromyalgia, so the stop/start button sewing(without a presser foot is a must) for sewing other than quilting. I am trying to be smart & get a machine that will do what I really need & as I do very little sewing except for quilting (which will be done on the Brother I have) that leaves a machine for applique. So at this point I need help on a machine that will give me a great applique stitch. Let me stress I LOVE my Bernina 930 & the Janome 6600 but both are heavy & too much machine for my one need, lightweight machine to applique with.

Suggestions??

I just bought a Janome 3160qdc, It's a 12 # machine and does great for raw edge applique. It does have the start/stop needle up/down auto thread/cut. I also (bought) got a new applique foot with it, which also works on my other Janome 6500. You might be able to get by with just getting a new foot. It works really good on turning for applique, on both machines. But if you want light weight for classes etc. look at the 3160. I wouldn't get rid of the Janome you have. Mine works great for FM quilting. Check with a Janome dealer, and see if you can test the new foot on a 6500/6600 at the store. It really does work well.

The Janome is a wonderful machine and no problem with the applique, I just want a smaller lightweight machine to do applique with.

Then I would suggest the Janome 3160 with the new applique foot. The foot just came out I think.