I set aside the whole of this weekend for working on my Aboriginal fabric quilt and my Twelve by Twelve quilt and look! Kaput sewing machine.
Help me!
Originaly it said itwas an E1 error and the service man (who came out to the house very quickly) rang someone in London who said they thought E1 went a small fuse had blown. An easy fix. But he came and it was not that. And when I got home to the bad news it was showing an E3 error. The Service man is awaiting someone helpful from Janome to ring him.
I decided to give the Janome centre near where I live a call as well. They do not know what an E1 error is either. As the manual tells you to ring the service centre in the event of an E1 error this is not good! Particularly as the error seems to be growing! Plus, there is all that time off over Christmas and New Year when I planned to sew.....
Which brings me to shopping. Well, you knew it would didn't you?!
I think I may be the only serious quilter I know who only has one machine. In fact I have only ever had two in my life. When I thought I might try quilting I bought a Toyota for £99 from an advert. Big mistake. Useless thing. It went back within weeks, which of course is all the time you need to get hooked and I upgraded to the Janome Memorycraft 6600 whch I love.
So, shall I now get a new one? I think most people who have more than one have them because they upgraded and kept the old ones rather than buying a new one with less features on than their main one. But, given our refurbishment costs at the moment I am not in the market for a bigger better machine. I am assuming the old one is mendable and am wondering whether to get a smaller one for times just as this. Just as I keep a spare hairdryer because, if and when the one I use all the time blows up, it is going to do so when I have wet hair and am about to go out. Some time ago I sold a quilt and used some of the profit to buy an embellisher. I held back the remaining profit for something significant and special. Maybe this is what it is for!
So - help me. Either pop around with a spare machine for me to borrow or, leave me a comment to help me make up my mind, would you? Should I be patient and do hand work for a while or should get a new second one asap so I can sew over the holidays? I can stillget next day delivery before Christmas if I order very soon and it doesn't snow too much more. Tell me, If you have more than one do you use them all and if so when do you use which ones? Do any of you have a Janome Jem Platinum 760?
12 comments:
Helen, I started out with 1 machine, then got a second hand older model for going out 'bush' & sewing there, then I won a machine & now I'm sponsored by a machine company, so have another machine [4] in all. I have been able to giv e 2 of the machines to my daughters, making them very happy & upgrading them from their 21st birthday sewing machines.
No quilter should be at the mercy of one machine, get a backup! I've never owned a Janome (although I've looked and pondered)- I've got a twenty-year old Bernina 1130 workhorse, and a Juki that I use for quilting.
And if I really get desperate, I guess I could haul out the Elna someone gave my daughter, or the Singer Featherweight I got on eBay a few years ago!
Helen, you cannot own too many sewing machines! (Well, actually you can, but...) I think every serious stitcher needs a small machine that you can easily carry away for weekends or retreats or classes. I have a Janome Jem. It is a great little machine. Doesn't do all the things my big Janome does, but is quite good as a backup. So, if you bought a small, portable machine, and had the 6600 repaired you would end up with just what you need. The small ones are not all that expensive either, so not so painful as replacing the 6600.
P.S. Mine is not the Jem Platinum it is a very plain Jem, which I don't think they make anymore. Mine is a lovely little machine, so I would expect the Platinum to be even better.
I'm with Terry -- buy another Janome and continue trying to get your original one fixed. If all goes well, you'll have two machines you love and lots of options!
Hi Helen
I had a number 1 error on my 5 year old Elna a couple of years ago. It was the stepping motor (which makes the needle do zigzag) It cost quite a bit to fix, about 25% of the original cost of the machine. They said it would have been much more expensive it it had been the circuit board.
A new machine? Definitely, and I recommend you consider one with a longer arm, like the Pffaf Quilters Expression (which I got this year) or the new Janome Horizon which was advertised in the NZ Quilter 2 days after I got the Pffaf. The top of the line Bernina is even bigger but over twice the price of the other two. I love the longer arm for free motion quilting and I have kept my Elna. I've just ordered another Sew Ezi table so I can have both set up at the same time, the Pffaf for quilting and the Elna for piecing.
Compliments of the Season to you and Dennis.
When I upgraded, the shop suggested, rather than a trade-in, keeping the old (smaller) one for workshops. I thought at the time this was probably just clever salesmanship, but I'm so glad I did - no need to disturb work-in-progress settings to take machine to workshops etc. I now have 4 machines, including my grandmother's Edwardian Singer, now only an heirloom-in-waiting.
I have a Juki TL98E as a second machine and it sure is a workhorse! It's just a straight stitch machine, but it's got a large harp area (great for machine quilting), and sews 1500 SPM - that thing flies! And, the stitch is fantastic. And, it was well under US$1K. It's a machine I don't mind using at all when my Bernina is getting her spa treatments! Good luck getting the Janome fixed!
Of course you 'need' (want) a second machine. If only to use when your 'real' machine is in the shop for its yearly maintainance. And a smaller one to take to workshops is also nice, a Janome 6600 is a quite heavy machine to lug around. What kind of machine you buy depends on your budget. I also have a Janome Jem Platinum, it is a great little machine, it can do all I need it to, but it is quite expensive. I also have a mechanical pfaff select which I bought second hand for next to nothing. A visit to the sewingmachine repairman made it as good as new and I use it a lot (due to its IDT).
You don't want to know how many machines I have. I have a 25 year old very basic non-electronic Viking which I kept when I bought a used Bernina 1020 (even older, I think - but a great machine). When that stopped working I bought a used Janome 6500 and then lo and behold, discovered I could fix the Bernina myself - I forget, but it was an easy glitch. The Viking and Bernina are in my studio; the Janome, which I love, is in my sewing room at home (and I feel your pain - since this is the first time I have had a computerized machine)
and just for good measure, in case (of what??) I have an ancient portable Singer 66 which does a great straight stitch.
Bottom line - buy either the Jem or a good used machine as a second one. And good luck!
Helen--_I started out with one and now have several including some collectables. I have found that a service takes from 3-6 weeks here, especially if the machine needs parts. SO I would definitely get a second machine. I also do machine embroidery so I can sew on one while the other embroiders. Susan
More than one machine is always a necessity! I wish I could click "like" on all the comments I've read because they are all true! Best wishes getting everything going!
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