I am seriously considering the 7700 for two reasons: my Viking Lily doesn't have a very big throat and it is hard to do very good FMQ on it. Fabric doesn't move well (even with dogs down and a teflon slider sheet) and tension is an issue. I can see that the 7700 has loads more room, but is it really good at FMQ? It seems to have good FMQ feet but I still read/hear about people having back-of-the-quilt tension issues.
cary424: I am seriously considering the 7700 for two reasons: my Viking Lily doesn't have a very big throat and it is hard to do very good FMQ on it. Fabric doesn't move well (even with dogs down and a teflon slider sheet) and tension is an issue. I can see that the 7700 has loads more room, but is it really good at FMQ? It seems to have good FMQ feet but I still read/hear about people having back-of-the-quilt tension issues.
Cary, Leah Day has a 7700 and she gives good hints on what thread, needle, etc. in her new class on Quilty. I have a 7700 as well but haven't done too much quilting with it but Barbara has a 6600, similar, and does amazing stuff with it. Check it out.
Millbury, MA
Marie: in her new class on Quilty
Sorry, that should have read "Craftsy".
Thanks, Marie. I did see one video on the 7700 by Leah Day and it was pretty good so I will check her out on Craftsy. And who is Barbara?
Cary
Cary, Barbara is the leader in the FNMFree Motion Quilting group. Go to "groups" above and look for the group, click on it and you'll see all her wonderful work she's done on her 6600. She currently has one of my UFO's she's quilting for me. She's using her Janome 6600 to do it.
Hi Cary424. I have a 7700 and love it. I find the extra throat room is amazing on even the smaller quilts. I am a newbie to FMQ but find the fabric moves very well. On the larger quilts it helps to have the material hang on another table or in my case I use the ironing board to hold the extra fabric. As for back of the quilt tension issues, I do spend a lot of time playing with the tension and different threads on scraps before I go to the full quilt. It is worth the time and on a couple of the quilts I did I found the best setting was the auto setting. I know when I purchased my 7700 the store allowed me to bring in a sandwich square and play with it. That is the best way for you to tell if you are going to like it. If the store won't accommodate you trying it out for an hour then go somewhere else. It is a lot of money to spend on a 5 minute test drive.
Paris, Ontario
I'm like Marilyn and not really experienced at FMQ and I purchased the 7700 last April because I wanted to be able to become a better FMQer I have to say that I am happier with my results. I really enjoy working on the 7700 and have managed to produce a couple of lap quilts that I am pleased with. The dealer suggested that I remove the foot pedal and use the on/off button for starting and stopping. That took a bit of practise as it's a bit like going around corners the first time you use cruise control when driving. However, it works really well with helping to maintain an even length of stitch and it's one less activity for the brain to have to look after. I would highly recommend the Leah Day Craftsy class. I have found that Craftsy classes go on sale fairly regularly so I would wait for a sale. Leah also has a website and a blog with lots of information and many free youtube videos and she sews on the 7700.
Are you aware that there is a new model available now-the 8900-for about the same price as the 7700. One of the biggest changes is the 9mm feed dogs, but I understand that Janome has also changed to individual straight stitching and zig zag plates and gotten rid of the APC. The plates also pop off and don't use screws to hold them in place. I think that it also has an extra large foot pedal. And they have removed the Acufeed system so it is no longer attached to the machine. The Accufeed system is still used on the 8900 but just isn't an integreal part of the machine. I haven't looked at the new model so am not sure of any other changes.
I really like the Accufeed system and don't have any problem with the way it works on the 7700, In fact, if you purchase the 7700, I would highly recommend that you try to get the dealer to include the 3 Accufeed feet not included with the machine. (1/4", Stitch-in-the-ditch and Open Toed) as I use them all on a regular basis. I just about never sew without using the Accufeed feet except when FMQ.
I found that the APC, when in the zig zag position, allowed the thread to catch in between the moveable metal part and the plate when FMQ and moving the quilt forward so I purchased a foot plate for the sister Elna model to the 7700. It wasn't very expensive.and I usually just leave it on. I managed to break a couple of needles when the APC was in the straight stitching position and I was FMQ. That was not helping build confidence.
That's a long answer and probably more information than needed, but I do love my ruby machine and haven't regret ted the purchase for one minute.
Canuckquilter, I don't have a 7700 but I still enjoyed reading the new information about the new machines. I have not seen them yet and are probably more money then I can afford.LOL I do have a 6600 that I bought new last year and love it . It does all the things I need it to do . .I see you also joined the FMQ group ,if I got that wrong I'm sorry ,you should join us often we are going to start working on some of the things that we who took Leah Days Craftsy Class here soon. Mostly we are just going to work on them together. Glad to have you with us in the whole club.Barbara
EAT!! SLEEP !! QUILT!!
Canuckquilter - I have a Janome 7700 that I have had for almost 2 years. It is great,. I can do so much more with it than a standard domestic. I have watched Leah Day's Craftsy class and done some of the practice. I have another quilt that I am trying to get quilted befroe Christmas so have not started on the Sampler that she uses for the class. You can also go to her site and follow her blog where she gives lots of info. I did have a lot of problems with my thread breaking during FMQ. I tried every different thread I could get my hands on as well as every hint I got. Nothing really helped. Leah Day only uses Isacord poly thread so I bought some of that. I had never used a poly before, but since I started using it I have not had my thread break once. Another bonus to the poly is no lint. With the cotton thread I needed to clean the machine with every bobbin change. Having said all that, I must admit that the poly takes some getting used to and after being an all cotton girl for so long it still seems somehow wrong. LOL! You will love your machine once you get used to it!