A New Toy

Well, Saturday I ventured out in the rain. I took the Singer that's behaving poorly for fixing, and my White serger for a tuneup and oil change or whatever they do to those nasty machines to make them less cranky. Of course, the real purpose of my trip was to get a lifetime machine...and for this price, it had better last a lifetime!

I decided upon a Janome machine. Oh, I could have driven 50 miles to get a Bernina or Husquvarna Viking machine, or even into Philly for a Pfaff. But the service would then have been a living nightmare. A guarantee of not one, but TWO one hundred mile round trips every time the machine needed service? That's just not something I would eagerly anticipate. And the Sewing Center, which is only 8 miles from my house, can no longer reliably get parts for any of those machines. So Janome it was.

Then I spent time playing with the various models they had, asking questions about how much metal was in it, and so forth. And then I made my selection: The Janome Professional 6500.

And here it is.

This sucker is huge. I had to have help getting it out of the store, because I can't pick it up. (Since the shopping center in which the store is located is very sadly quite vacant, I just parked in the fire lane for the hour I was there.) Of course, when I got home, I dispatched Ryan to haul it out of the car, and he, being a curious "little" guy, opened it up for me and moved it to its home.

One nice thing is that the work space is extra wide. Another is that you can see the bobbin right through the little cover, so I'll know when I'm about to run out of bobbin thread, instead of being surprised all the time. (It also has a separate bobbin winding motor, which is pretty nifty.) Of course, some dumb**s didn't buy more bobbins, so I have to remember to get them when I get my other machines back. I like all of the markings on the plate around the needle. It'll doubtless make it easier for turning at angles and things like that. Let's just say that the scales appeal to the mechanical engineer in me.

I'm not sure how I feel about the computerized screen telling me about all of my stitches and whatnot. But I did make a test monogram on the pocket of one of my dearly beloved's tees, and that was kind of fun. Leave it to him to whine about a dark purple monogram on a black tee. It's not girly, really!

I like that you can choose to have the machine always stop with the needle all the way up or all the way down. I really like its button which cuts the threads at the end of the line of stitching when pushed. But my favorite thing is the automatic needle threading. I won't have to worry about where my magnifying glass is all the time! Score one for aging eyeballs!

I was so excited about this machine that I decided to make a dress out of my pink crepe brocade for Easter. There was only one "minor" problem. I cut it out of a pattern designed for knits, which made it too small for something with no stretch. I guess I'll have to offer it to one of my daughters, who are younger and skinnier than me, have them try it on to make sure it works, and then finish it. Blah! I hate when things don't work out.

Next up: finishing the flowered dress, and maybe another addition to the sewing table.