Look what I've got!!! A shiny new Janome 6600 Professional, courtesy of the good people at Janome themselves. I LOVE this machine!
Up until now, I've sewn at home on a Janome J3-18, a basic cheapo model that I got when I didn't know whether sewing was going to be a passing interest or a long-term love affair. Well, you know the rest of that story. The J3-18 has served me very well for the last few years and has done everything I needed it to do, and I'd still definitely recommend it to others starting out or on a budget. Yet it's great to finally have a professional machine to work on.
So how is the 6600 Professional different? Well, the first thing you notice is the weight. Cripes, this bad boy is heavy! While I can easily swing the J3-18 around and about between surfaces, I've had to give the 6600 a semi-permanent spot to save my back (I'm only little). I consider its heft an asset rather than a hindrance, reassuring me that its guts are strong, and that it can sew through practically anything.
Indeed, the sewing experience is totally different. So smooth! So sturdy! So digital! My older model was a mechanical machine, whereas this one has stronger needle "penetration power" (behave). It includes a crazy number of fancy stitches, comes with a huge set of presser feet (hooray!), and does lots of wizzy things such as memorising stitching sequences and automatically snipping threads. Like, what?! It does feel a bit like cheating, but I'm not complaining. I haven't yet figured out how to programme it to make me a cup of tea... anyone know where that button is?
And did I mention that the Janome 6600 Professional is also a looker? Swoon. I'll still keep my J3-18 as it's good to be familiar with a machine suitable for the beginners that I teach to sew, but right now it's getting a well-deserved rest...