full article,
"I really enjoyed your gift idea article and thought there were some fun ideas in it, even for a die-hard tent camper like myself," said Schwyn, owner of Specialty Outdoors. However, Schwyn went on to take issue with the $40-Sewing Genie suggestion. "This item is considered in many sewing circles to be a complete and total useless piece of junk that does not perform as advertised," she wrote. "It's a real disservice to promote a device like that to unsuspecting users."
When contacted by telephone, Schwyn said, "As with so many things, you get what you pay for." She then recommended the 11-pound Janome "Jem," retailing for $299. "Because it is so lightweight and has 10 different stitches," said Mary Ellen Laughary, floor manager at Pacific Crescent Quilting store in Spokane, "it is a very popular machine with people in RVs, Snowbirds who go south in the winter and people who want it for their lake cabin. It is a very big seller."
For more information
. Specialty Outdoors can be contacted at 448-0346 or online at
. Internet site for " What Machine Should I Buy FAQ"
. Inland Northwest retail outlets for the Janome Jem are: Pacific Crescent Quilting, 7454 N. Division, Spokane, 484-4808; Quilted Heart, 134 Grand Ave., Pullman, (509) 334-7544; and Sweet Creek Creations, 219 E. 5th Ave., Metaline Falls, Wash., (509) 446-2429.