SherylM

Yes, they do offer that, however they throw that in, no charge! They didn't have any in the store, but they've got some ordered and they should be in in about a week. She said she would call me so I can come in and give it a test drive. I did get a brochure to bring home. Found out that it has a 10" harp space, not 11" like I thought, but that's plenty big enough.

I did test drive Janome's newest top-of-the-line machine though, the M7 Continental. Oh, my...so nice! It's also an $8000.00 machine. Also, and I think this is a big deal, I felt really good about the dealer. They have three stores - two of them are closed now, but will re-open at the end of the month. The one we went to was about 30 minutes away, so not bad at all, but we'll be able to take the machine to the one that's closest to home. They're also a sew & vac repair place and the store was packed with vintage sewing machines, so I kinda liked that too!

So I'm pretty sure that, unless something else comes up, this is the machine I'll be getting.
.

SherylM

Ha! This cracks me up because my husband blew my budget out of the water! LOL
I'm not complaining, mind you...

Sharon5012

Some of the 9mm models have multiple serpentine stitches to choose from. One of may favorite stitches.

mea12

SherylM

Yes, the 6700 is a 9mm machine and the stitches are adjustable both ways. I've been reading serpentine stitch threads and learning a lot. I'm getting more excited about this machine all the time! I never really had the desire for a computerized machine before and didn't think I would use one with decorative stitches. I also didn't think I would want to learn free motion quilting. Well, things change.

Two years ago we downsized, moved an hour away to a different county and I joined a weekly quilter's Sit and Sew group, as well as a group that meets once a month. It was the best thing I could have done, both socially and quilting wise. Seeing what the other ladies are working on has exposed me to and pushed me to try things that I wouldn't have before, like English paper piecing, that opened up a lot of possibilities for me.

When I started thinking about why I didn't want to learn free motion quilting, it came down to the fact that the smaller harps on my machines would make it more difficult (not impossible...I know there are many quilters that do it) to do anything other than smaller items, like QAYG blocks or wall hangings. I've done several large twin size quilts with the walking foot and it was a chore that I didn't enjoy at all. I don't want to keep sending them out to a longarmer and though I love to do it, hand quilting takes so much more time, that I'd rather save that for the occasional quilt.

I don't want to be limited anymore by what my machines can do, and while I know that this machine won't live nearly as long as my beloved vintage machines, I also think it will be one that I can grow with skill-wise, and that I'll be happy with for a long time. Janome's are well made, dependable machines, and as long as I don't end up with a lemon (it happens), I don't think I'll regret the purchase at all.

KalamaQuilts

Just to keep your excitement up Sheryl I just finished binding this quilt, quilted with the serpentine stitch on my Janome 8900. For perspective the blocks are 2" finished. This is the reverse side of a mystery quilt, using up the leftovers.

SherylM

Oh, I like that! So, it's reversible? I have a pile of 64 patch blocks made with 2 1/2' squares (2' finished) that I put together when I had the flu in January...and then again in February. And then a friend gave me a whole shoebox full of 2" squares that I'm going to have to do something with one of these days. Yikes...little squares, everywhere!

I have a couple of UFO's that are going to get the serpentine treatment just as soon as that machine follows me home; it's such a useful stitch.