OK, I'll admit it. I'm looking for that perfect machine to take to workshops and retreats and it's just not out there, is it.
I have a Husqvarna SE that I love. I love it so much, I find it hard to sew on anything else and feel comfortable. I don't have a pressure foot lever and the foot lifts automatically when the machine stops if it's in the needle down position. Which makes it perfect for button hole appliqué.
But it weights about 100 pounds. Not really, but it may as well.
I have a Janome Jem. It's a fun little machine, but if I'm taking a workshop and need anything other than basic stitches, it's out. I have a Featherweight and, of course, it's the same situation.
I was at a workshop last week and a few of the girls had the Janome Jem Platinum 760. It has more stitches and I liked it a lot, but when I sewed on it, I didn't think it fed the top and bottom fabric right. I wasn't using pins, but it didn't come out even. I didn't say anything and none of the girls using the machine mentioned this. But my friend blogged about the machine and said we were considering it and there were a couple of people who mentioned it without any prompting.
So the sewing machine place was across the street from the workshop site and the next day I went. He didn't have a Platinum, but said he had some on order it and would ship it to me. Then he showed me another machine. It's a Janome DC 2010. I sat down and sewed on it and it seems a little more substantial than the Jem (it might weigh a couple pounds more, but not much). It has a needle up/down and a decent buttonhole stitch. It has a very pretty regular stitch, which I love.
I've sewn on it a little bit and I gotta tell you, it handles the heavy seams better than my Husqvarna. I have always had trouble with that machine veering off track when it came to a thick seam crossing. Everything else made up for it, but it still aggravated me.
So, until they make a Husqvarna that weighs 12 pounds and does everything my big one does, I think I might like this little Janome. For the first time, I have a quilt table for a machine. I think, in addition to travelling, I will set this machine up on my kitchen or dining room table when I need to sew big, honkin' rows together. I knock crap everywhere when I try to do this at my regular work space because I am so used to miniature quilts.
Ok, that's the latest from your roving reporter.
Cindy