Tuesday, May 23, 2006

My new Janome

Well, I finally did it, after talking about it for months, I bought a new sewing machine. It's a Janome Memory Craft, 6500. My trusty old Kenmore still works, and I felt like such a materialistic consumer for even wanting a new one. But want it I did, and here it is:

Just ignore the tv you see at the top right over the machine, I like to watch 'King of the Hill' late at night. Yup, you can see Hank standing out by his trash can, beer in his hand. *grins* I must be a redneck too, I keep the piece of plywood on the table I sew on, to protect the table surface from scratches, inadvertent slips of the rotary cutter, heat from the iron, etc.

This machine DOES so much more than the 30+ year old one! I'll be able to free motion quilt now! And it has a thread cutter and separate bobbin motor and needle up/down and all kinds of feet and stitches and... :) Can you tell I'm excited and happy?

The only thing I've found that I don't like so far is that the acrylic table-expander that comes with it tends to go sliding off to the left. I looked online and read that someone had a simple solution for it, hook a rubberband around the extender leg, then stretch it to the sewing machine leg. Cheap, easy to remove when the table comes off, and low cost to replace.

I'm off work this week and part of next week, and I can hardly wait to play on it. The only thing I've done so far is attach all the loose parts they expect you to bolt on, fill a bobbin, thread it, and sew a couple of test seams. But tomorrow.... :)

18 comments:

Hanne said...

Congratulations on your new machine ! I have a Janome Memory Craft 6600 - and I love it. May your new sewing machine friend bring you many happy moments :-)

Ali Honey said...

I hope you enjoy learning the ropes with your new machine. I am only a few days ahead of you with my new Bernina. Lots to learn. Lots to try and lots to practise.Lets hope the results prove we needed new machines.lol!
Cheers Alison.

Joyce said...

Nothing is more fun than a new sewing machine! Enjoy. (How not to)

sewprimitive karen said...

Oh, how beautiful. They say Janomes are really great machines.

KC Quilter said...

Wow, congrats on your new machine! How fun. And, yes, we all do need multiple machines LOL. They're our friends, after all. BTW, my first machine was a Kenmore (late 60s) and it took those cams for decorative stitches. Still haven't found a machine yet that made buttonholes as nice as that ole' Kenmore. Have fun!

Kim West said...

I love my 6500! I have had it for about two years now. Another way to keep the table from sliding (the way i use) is get some of that rubber shelf liner (the waffle-looking stuff) and cut a piece just large enough for your machine and your extender table. It cuts down on the vibration noise too - not that the machine bounces around much.

Finn said...

Cpmgratulations Jane!! I'll be waiting to hear what you think of it. So many to choose from..I know it's hard, and none of them are cheaP! Have fun with your time off!

Laurie Ann said...

Looks like great fun!!!

Linda C said...

Let us know what you think once you get to play a bit more! Congrats. I'm in the market but probably a year away from being able to pony up with the funds.

Ann said...

Woohoo! I can't wait to see some projects from it and hear how much faster they got done! I'm so happy for you, gf!

Patty said...

Looks like lots of fun sewing ahead for you !

Simonetta said...

Woowww!!!Congratulations for your new sewing machine!!!
I understand your joy because last year, for my birthday,I received from my husband the Bernina aurora 440 and it was an endless joy for me :)))

Laura said...

Enjoy your new machine!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh your new machine is wonderful! What a fun new toy! Your solution with the rubber band is a great idea. Mine slips too, but I went out and bought some non-skid dots for the bottom of something and put those on the bottom legs and now it hardly moves! Your idea is great!

Leah Spencer said...

I want that machine! Will be looking forward to your future comments about the pros and cons of it!

And I can completely relate to the "old Kenmore" machine - I took my mom's 20+ year old Kenmore machine when I married and sewed with it until it died (the bobbin wasn't working and it made a horrible noise that even my husband commented on it!) Now I have a used Bernina 150 QE, but I think I'll go for Janome for my next machine... which could be years away! :)

Lily Mulholland said...

Wow now that's a machine!! You'll have hours of fun :)

When you work out the correct needle position for the 1/4" foot can you share? I have the supposed 1/4" for my very-basic-by-comparison Janome, but it doesn't sew an exact 1/4". It's a little wider, which, as we know, just does not work!!!!

Tonya Ricucci said...

Hurrah for the new machine. Vrrooooom.

Evelyn aka Starfishy said...

Oh, how fun! I love my Janome's. About those bobbins - I love seeing how much bobbin thread I have left too - BUT you really MUST take it apart and clean the lint out from under the bobbin chase after every quilt. Good quality thread helps with the lint thing. This was something I never worried about on my old machines - a good puff of air every once in awhile did the trick, but this style traps the lint underneath and will eventually give you skipped stitches if you don't clean it out faithfully. And I love needle up/down on my machine!!!

Oh, and on my Janome the 1/4" foot is actually a hair bigger than 1/4" so I set the needle position over 1 notch when quilting - you should do a quick "test" with 3 pieces of fabric just to check...

Have fun with it!!! YIPPEE!

Cheers!

Evelyn

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