I Can Sew Again!

Doc said I could quilt but just take it easy!  So with "help" from Bandit I made a huge mess:

I reorganized all the strips for my 9-Patch quilt to see what I had and folded all my purple fabric together on the floor for easy storage later.  I went through and counted all my 10 stacks and pinned the stray ones together.

After finishing up the strips in the picture I now have 300 blocks done.  1100 more to go!

Doc said I needed to find a "back proof" method of cutting.  The table above also serves as the dinner table so raising it won't work.  It's also EXTREMELY heavy and I don't know if the riser thingies would handle the weight.  I don't have another table to work with.  Right now I've just been sitting on a chair and cutting up the strips next to the sewing machine so I'm not up/down all the time.

I heard rumors that Janome had a 6700 machine out and went to the website.  It looks beautiful but I can see several design flaws that Janome has yet to fix:

1.  The scissors position.  It's up way to high and that's the button I would use the most.  It needs to be where the stop/start button is.

2.  They have the same crappy extension table.  Give it up.  It's only good for a light table.

3.  I wonder if the knee lift is way to loose and goes up to the right.

4.  Looks like the same 3 speeds are still there.  More speeds would be nice.

5. Does it have the same "way to small" foot pedal?  And does the machine make extra stitches when you stop?

6.  Does it have a thread cutter on top for winding a bobbin?  Janome seems to be the only company that doesn't do this.

What I like:

The straight stitch hole option seems really cool and the touch screen looks nice.  The double storage boxes are a great idea.  They boast that the machine doesn't shift when you do your seams.  I'll have to test that one since that's my biggest gripe with the Janome machines.  My understanding is that it runs about 3000 dollars.  Ouch in this economy.

I've also heard rumors that Viking is coming out with a new machine that is between the Topaz and the Diamond.  I'd love to see that.

Before you think that I always knock Janome, my Viking has several design flaws as well.  The issues with the take-up lever shouldn't even be there.  My Topaz winds a crappy bobbin but my Sapphire does a beautiful one.  I don't like how stiff the buttons are on my Topaz.  I miss the foot lever in the back for more precise adjustments.  I don't like where my scissors are located as well.  Sometimes the foot lift when you stop is annoying.

I know no machine is perfect.  It's just finding the machine that works the best for you.