Does anyone have anything to say about the Janome Horizon

[Rita C.]

Thanks Kathy, yes it's clear - now I know what a 'free-arm' is. I don't sew any garments so it's not a deal-breaker for me. Thanks for taking the time to respond. It all helps me get a clearer picture of what I want in my next machine.

[Kathryn S.]

Rita, I'm glad you were able to figure it out from my not too good description! For most quilters things like lighting, harp size, ability to sew a quarter inch seam reliably are way more important. Have you tried sewing on the Horizon? It's a nice machine. My local sewing machine dealer carries Janomes so I've tried it out. I'm sticking with my 6600 but the Horizon is very very nice!

Kathy

[Rita C.]

Kathy, my local dealer is a 2 1/2 hour drive away. Going there on tuesday to get my machine serviced and I will try it out then and hopefully some others too.

[Kathryn S.]

My local dealer is less than a mile from me. I'm very lucky! Or not, since I seem to be over there once a week or so, it's dangerous going to a sewing machine shop! Have a good time trying out the machines. Kathy

[Kathryn S.]

I considered the Horizon 7700 before getting a Bernina 820. You are wise to stick with a brand/machine for which you can get proper service and support. So I joined the Horizon yahoo group, and based on what I've read there, in daily digests for over a year, it's a great machine. There have been lemons, as can occur with any brand or model, but it seems that Janome stands behind their product, and repaired and replaced machines, plus engineered a new foot, which was made available free to existing owners and now ships with new machines. Two of my PatternReview pals, however, did have serious troubles with their 7700s. One was repaired recently and seems to be all sorted out, the other was eventually replaced entirely by Janome, but only after serious difficultly from a dud of a dealer. So if you have confindence that your dealer will support you in case of trouble, then feel assured that Janome supports its products. The 6600 is a tried and true, workhorse machine, if you can do without the free arm, the extra 2" of harp space on the 7700, and a few bells and whistles. Best of luck with your choice! Hugs from Chicago, where the St. Patrick's Day craziness has already begun. I'll be indoors sewing. Here they dye the Chicago River green, have a parade, drink Guiness beer, and eat corned beef and soda bread. What do real Irish do?

[Rita C.]

Thanks for taking the time to reply to this post. I am going to go really slowly on this purchase as it will possibly be the most expensive machine purchase I will ever make. I have been trawling the internet to find out as much information as I can about the Horizon. Most people who have the 6600 seem to thing that it is a wonderful machine too.

As for what the 'real' Irish do on St. Patrick's Day - well when it coincides with a weekend like it does this year a lot of people go away as we have a long weekend. Some people take their kids to the Parade in Dublin, but would get out of there before nightfall in case there is trouble because of drunkenness. We used to take our kids to the parade in our nearest town which is Bray or sometimes Greystones, but now they prefer to go with their friends. These are very locally based parades so the floats are very basic as they are usually advertising local business or the local girl-guides and boy scouts etc., My kids favourite was when they went to stay with my sister in Co. Leitrim one year because DH and I were in Chicago for a concert. The best moment was when St. Patrick fell off the back of a trailer because it jerked suddenly. They still laugh when they think about it.

When we were kids there was very little to St. Patrick's day except that we had to go to Mass with a bit of shamrock stuck to our coats or if you were wealthy enough a tricolour ribbon. Then we went in to Dublin for the parade and had a roast dinner when we got home. We never and still don't dye the river Liffey green.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you.

[Renata L.]

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you, too, Rita, and to all! Don't we all become Irish for the day? At least, I hope so! Renata

[Rita C.]

Yes Renata - everybody gets to be Irish for the day. Looks like you are in the right colours already :lol: Lá Fheile Padraig sona duit. (Happy St. Patrick's Day in Irish) Phonetics: law ayleh Paw-drig sunna dit. :mrgreen:

[Rita C.]

Happy belated St Patricks Day. I have been saving for quite a while for a trip to the emerald Isle. First time DH had back problems so we opted for a shorter plane trip to Jamaica. Then we talked about a trip for when "we" retired from the Navy this year. He broke his foot and arm while putting up lights for Christmas He is still in Physical therapy for the foot. STill have hope and the $$$ in my savings.
Keep your fingers crossed.

[Rita C.]

Honestly Cheryl, the lengths your DH will go to to prevent you coming to Ireland! :lol: Seriously though, I hope he recovers real soon and that you get to visit. Best times of year are May and September.

[Rita C.]

I went to my dealer in Waterford on tuesday. A very pleasant 2 hour drive down the east coast of Ireland with DH driving there and back. John who runs the Singer Sewing Centre in Waterford is such a nice person and his Mammy works in the shop too. It is a tiny shop on the corner of a very busy crossroads right in the centre of town. We got there at 10am and already the shop was buzzing with people coming and going with machines which John seemed to be able to fix within minutes - sergers, hemmers etc.

I brought two quilt sandwiches and lots of different threads and needles just in case. John very thoroughly looked at my machine and felt confident that he could fix all the problems but he couldn't get my problem thread to work either - even after trying several needles and tensions so he declared the thread unsuitable for the machine. :x We tried all the different threads I brought with me which all worked fine and I have now converted John to Superior Metallic and Aurifil thread which he says he is going to order for the shop. He couldn't get over how good they were.

Meanwhile I started trying out the Horizon - at which point DH headed off with Betsy (our one-eyed dog!) for a walk around the town (it's officially a city but really it's a large town for Ireland). I tried out as many feet as I could on my two quilt sandwiches and other fabric I had brought with me to try. I loved everything about it. It is so quiet, so smooth, easy to use (okay the screwing and unscrewing of feet and FMQ attachment is a bit fiddly - but worth it! Then John suggested I try my problem thread to see if it would work. So I did. Without changing my tension or needle it worked perfectly in FMQ!

John popped out to a nearby bakery to get some fresh scones for his mammy to have with the cup of tea which I was offered too! I worked away on the Horizon messing about on my quilt sandwiches. When he returned we had a little sit down chat about trading in my machine and what I would expect to pay for the Horizon. He made me a much more attractive offer than I thought he would, so I said that I would go off and have a coffee with DH and we would discuss it. Meanwhile he moved on to my friend Ruth's machine which I had also brought down to be fixed.

When I met up with DH he said he only had to see my face to know that I loved the machine so when I told him what it would cost with the trade-in he said "you should just get it". So I did! I LOVE THIS MACHINE :!: It works like a dream. It does free motion quilting so smoothly I can't believe how hard I struggled on my chocolate quilt. I wish I had made this decision two weeks ago. My quilting would have been soooo much better on that quilt. I made buttonholes for the first time last night - it was a breeze.

I am now a very happy quilter. Thanks everybody for all your comments about the Horizon it really helped with the decision.

Meanwhile poor Ruth's machine had to stay for major repairs :cry: Because it's a Brother John has to wait for parts from them before he can fix it but he is sure that he can get her the full range of stitches back. She had been reduced to forward and reverse and all the other stitches were stitching backwards!

[Lotti D.]

one huge WHOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO
enjoy your new family member!

[karen f.]

I really enjoyed reading about your visit with the dealer, Rita! What a friendly place. I know you'll love your new machine. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Pamela O.]

one huge WHOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOO
enjoy your new family member!

Rita, Lotti said it so well! Enjoy.

[Nancy R.]

Rita -

Congratulations on your new machine! It's so wonderful to have such a great dealer nearby!! I think your chocolate quilt is gorgeous from the old machine, so I really look forward to seeing your first piece from you new machine. Enjoy every stitch!

Nancy