Does anyone own a Janome 7700 Horizon ? I have finally brought one and would like to know if there is a forum out there on this machine. Are there any tricks that you Ladies would care to share with me. It is 30 miles to the Dealer who did give me some instructions, but they weren't all that knowledgeable. The other dealer is 50 miles and she doesn't like to give lessons if you do not buy from her...understandable. So I'm teaching myself. Not always good :-D Thanks.

Hi..congratulations. Yes, there are several of us who have the Horizon. I just love mine (had it almost a year now) although I've been a bit slack with my sewing lately. I just jumped straight in and haven't had any problems with anything. There is a yahoo group and it's well worth joining. I can pm you the link as I don't think it will allow me to post it in here.

Never mind...I can't post the link in pm either :( If you do a search in Yahoo groups for JanomeHorizon7700 you should find the group.

Good luck :)

I bought my Horizon in Oct 2010. I love the machine, some of my favorite features are: the thread cutter, the space between the needle and the motor, the adjustable speed control. I have had difficulty changing the walking foot, but have finally got it figured out. Two of the features that I don't use are the push button to sew without the foot petal and the bar to lift the presser foot with your knee.

I;m 99% sure that I;m going to order one,wish I could try one out first but the local dealer doesnt have one

I bought mine awhile ago as well, and like auntmag, don't use the lift (I am very short) or push start button. I do love the border foot though, just started using it for half square triangles,It has a perfect 1/2" line, so when I lay my square on a corner of a block I can use the excess fabric and make another 1/2 square triangle, someone posted a tut about it, this board is great! I do find with the table that if I slide my fabric straight up toward the foot, the under peice of fabric can catch on a slight opening between the table and machine, even when both are level, maybe watch that. I also blew my mother board the first week I had it because the breaker blew, so I would recomend a really good surge protector. Jamone replaced it no questions asked! You have a great machine there, have fun!

Thank you for the info. I have been looking at this machine since it came out and kept telling myself " I'm going to get one" So today it came home with me and I trying to make "friends" with it. I have a DC2010 that I love but I wanted something I could quilt lap quilts on instead of bothering friends for small projects. I'll check out Yahoo tonight.

This board is great. I never expected replies so soon. Thanks Ladies. My husband laughs when I tell him someone answered from Australia, Kentucky, Grand Pararie, Colorado. what does he know :D

The dealer should have given you enough instructions on operating your machine to feel comfortable, I would say at least 10 lessons.

It is the distance I have to ride 30 miles one way and I start back to school this week UGH She did give me a few lessons but the salesman who showed her knew less than she did. They send a video that is helpful, so i'll muddle through it.

In my opinion, if a company is going to sell a certain item/s such as sewing machines, then they should all be properly trained in those machines. I was offered a position for the owner of the sewing machine shop where I bought my machines and he required you to know the machines he sold, and if a client bought a machine there, you got at least 5 lessons.

I wish things were like that here but we are not a large Metropolitan area and most salesman just "pass" through to the big cities. It took 3 months to get the salesman back here to show them what little he knew. The shop can't afford to send the sales staff to Janome for training.
The next dealer is about 50 miles west of me and she would show me ,I'm sure. But since I didn't buy it from her, she just might be a little hard to deal with. I had put this machine on Lay-away and I noticed a sale ad at her shop, but she was a few hundred dollars higher.

I got mine last year and just love it!!! Quilting with it was amazing also. My dealer had me go back, at my convenience, for a class and they let me stay til they had answered all my questions. I went over my hour; but they didn't make me feel badly about it at all. They will answer any questions if I call them also.
You will find a few groups online....some Janome and some specific to the Horizon.
Enjoy!!!

I love my machine, but like you, I don't use the start/stop or knee lift. I like both hands on my work, and I can't get my leg/foot to do two things at once. I took some training, but I found out the best way to learn how to use a machine is to use it. I also use the feature "Ask Jan" on the Janome website.

Add Poland to that.

Yes, I have a Horizon. I got it last November. There are plenty of short tutorials on the web plus an instructional dvd. I've found that a lot of it is intuitive, and I've never had an electronic machine before.

And yes, join the Yahoo group. Just make sure you get the Horizon 7700 one, and not the general one or the 6600 one if you want specific Horizon information and have questions.

It's a very helpful group.

Unless they are teaching you to quilt, etc. I am not sure why it would take 10 lessons. Many times we aren't really ready to learn a certain thing until we actually want to do it. I'd say learn to use it and then take up a challenge once a month. A few days ago I decided to try to learn the binding tool. It worked!

Congrats on your new machine. They are very nice and you should make friends quickly!

I have one model down, the 6600. The things auntmeg mentioned are on this model too, and I love them. I think what I like MOST, now that I sorta know how to use it, is the push button start/stop. I have a bad knee and ankle and this really helps. I have much less pain from quilting now. The thread cutter is a joy when I am quilting a large quilt, especially.

I'm a bit the same with the knee lift...couldn't work the pedal and the knee lift with the same leg...too much moving my leg to and fro and it got uncomfortable. So, I learnt to operate the pedal with my left foot which left my right knee free for the knee lift :) It actually wasn't that difficult either....lol
I don't like using the stop/start button...rather have complete control with my foot..but that's just me...lol

I cannot offer any advice or tips but wanted to say that I have heard a lot of wonderful things about the Horizon. Congratulations and I wish you & her many beautiful quilts together.

I got mine in Februrary. Traveled 2 1/2 hours to get it. I love it and don't want to use my other machines anymore. Lately I have been using the acufeed for almost every project. I didn't go back for the class, they showed me alot when I purchased it and I have other Janome machines. They all seem similar. I do not hesitate to get the manual out to try something new with this machine. Made my first button hole the other day using Auto with the button in the foot. Had to look up the setting even though I have done this many times with my 10000 machine. Hope you enjoy using it as much as I do.

the knee lift is great when you get used to it.
try using your left foot for the floor pedal and your right knee for the lift.....'corse i drive stick shift too ;)

I bought this machine a month ago and love it. The thread cutter is great plus the fact that you don't have to hold the threads to start up again. Do you use the even feed for just piecing? With which foot?

The problem with most trying to use the knee lift is that it is too high with the machine sitting on a table top. Mine didn't fit in my sewing table until my husband & I made a few modifications to it. I lowered the machine just so that I can use the clear table that came with the Horizon as a the filler, it covers the entire cutout. Now the knee lift is much easier to use in fact I love it, it keeps both my hands free and I can keep my tweezers in my right hand and don't have to put them down each time to lift the presser foot. Like anything else, the more you use it the easier it becomes.

I love my Horizon and I am on the Yahoo Horizon Group and learn a lot from the ladies on there. The knee lift is one of my favorite things. Have fun with your new machine.

Enjoy your new machine!

The instructor at one of our Guild workshops used this machine. My thoughts were,"Do you need a degree from MIT to understand all of those bells and whistles??". Enjoy yours!!

I have had one for almost a year now, and love it for all the reasons everyone has stated. I had some quality issues with my particular unit, but eventually Janome replaced it... so far the new unit is fine. I LOVE the large throat space and the extra lighting. I use the knee lift all the time. At first, I didn't like that I had to move my leg so much to reach the lift, but I have decided that's a good thing. It keeps me from pressing on the throttle pedal while I"m lifting the foot.

One feature I depend on heavily is the settings "memory". You can configure the machine so that when you power it on, it comes on with the settings at which you powered it off. Like, if you change the stitch width or length or needle position. This is NOT the default configuration, however, so you have to specifically set this.

I have a Baby Lock and I don't use my foot peddle or my knee lift I like just pushing the button and it sews can adjust the speed. Makes it hard for me when I sit at my elna or my 15-91 I keep forgetting that I have to step on the peddle.LOL

I got mine this past May and haven't done my new owners class yet but learning from the DVD & the Yahoo group, I am using it with no problems. Since I was going from a bare bones older Singer, I am sure I am not using it to its full potential but after school starts back up I will take my owners class and really start using it.

Good luck with yours!

I too just purchased this machine. My best tip is read thru instruction book and use it as a workbook. Go step by step. I plan to stitch every stitch (notice I said plan to). I have started sewing on my with just the straight stitch and the quartern inch foot. So far so good.

Hi, Scrappy,
I have the Horizon and love love love it!
READ THE MANUAL. Watch the dvd. And I would drive those 30 miles to the dealer to get instruction, if needed. If the dealer isn't knowledgeable, I'd let Janome know. My dealer told me that his staff was required to learn how to use the machine.

LoriAnn

a dream for sure. Good choice.

I would like that link to help me with my sewing machine, Please

I bought one several weeks ago and love it, I do use the knee lift and sometimes the start button, depends what I am doing.There is nothing I dislike about it. :-D

I bought the Janome 6600 late last year. Not only did the ladies at the store spend 2 hours with me before I decided to buy the machine, they spent another2 hours before I took the machine home, they showed me how to clean and oil it after each use. I have unlimited one on one lessons with my machine any time I want. Just call to set up a time. They also give 15% off any extra special foot that I want at the time of the lesson. The ladies in my store all know the tricks of the machines they sell and are happy to share them. I'm only a couple miles from my store and I can always just stop in if I have a quick question. I guess I'm pretty lucky to have a store so helpful.

I bought the Janome 6600 late last year. Not only did the ladies at the store spend 2 hours with me before I decided to buy the machine, they spent another2 hours before I took the machine home, they showed me how to clean and oil it after each use. I have unlimited one on one lessons with my machine any time I want. Just call to set up a time. They also give 15% off any extra special foot that I want at the time of the lesson. The ladies in my store all know the tricks of the machines they sell and are happy to share them. I'm only a couple miles from my store and I can always just stop in if I have a quick question. I guess I'm pretty lucky to have a store so helpful.

Leah Day quilts with a Janome 7700 Horizon. She has written quite a bit about it. You might find her comments useful.
http://www.daystyledesigns.com/janome.htm Hope this help.s It sounds like a fabulous machine!

have had my Horizon a year and love it. The Janome yahoo group is wonderful. They've helped me alot. My dealer didn't show me anything and is 100 miles away so everything I have learned, it's been by reading the manual and through the yahoo group.

So you understand my situation...They did show me somethings but as I said they themselves weren't instructed on all its features. I did just plain sewing today without the foot or knee "thing" just to try it out. SO far so good...I'm afraid I will not be able to used the knee control because of my table. Not a big deal.