Monday, January 7, 2013

new year... new toys...

i've been trying for a long time to decide on a new sewing machine.  the janome horizon is so highly coveted and with its amazing features it almost sucked me in.  
but i kept going back to the juki TL-2010Q.  
miss jen aka bettycrockerass has done amazing things with hers... as has amber, and amanda jean.  
but i wanted to give it a test drive first. luckily  there is a juki dealer a few hours away from me and over new years weekend, i was able to go. 

long story short....  i got the TL-98Q, which is the older model... it was being sold on consignment (aka half price) and they offered a 90 day guarantee.  
SOLD!  
i am very happy with it and as chris says... it eats thick seams for b-fast!  
also, i am super happy that i convinced my sister, with very little effort, to get one as well.  now we will be sewing machine twins, well kinda... she got the 2010Q.

And here she is! Hello lover!  I'm super excited!!! I ended up getting the TL-98Q. They had a used one and it was less than half of the price of the 2010Q.  Now I can also buy a new camera and not feel guilty at all.  @bettycrockerass @rebeccasrags @freck

i have a few reservations and i hope that it is just that it is a new machine for me and will be resolved as we get to know each other.  i had a terrible time trying to thread my aurifil thread in it.  the threaded needle wouldn't catch the bobbin thread and stitch through.  i'm still not sure what i was doing wrong.  i finally gave up and re-threaded it with some essential thread and it has been sewing like a dream.  it is so heavy duty and it really does just sew through thick seams like it is nothing.  i also hope to find a universal 1/4"piecing foot for it.  just have to search.

i have made two 241 bags with it already and i am very happy with how consistent the stitches are and how easy it seems to be to use it. 
this is for my sister in law jennifer
New purse... First project a smashing success!  It breezes through those thick seams like its no big thing!  I am going to be very happy! Love this pattern miss @noodlehead531! Have another cut and ready to sew!
and this is for my sister candy.  

i hope to figure out the aurifil situation soon as i love the hell out of that thread! oh oh oh.... and the automatic thread cutter!!!!  i don't know how i ever lived without it.

one last thing....  i am also anxiously awaiting this....

Totally excited for this to be delivered!!!!! #finallyarealcamera

i had a friend let me borrow her camera that was the older model of this one.  i loved it, it was very easy to use and i thought it took great pictures.  the shutter speed was very fast and the pictures always were very clear and needed very little editing.  i am really looking forward to having it.

so here's to a new year and to a few new toys and lots of good things to you all...

xx
nicke

27 comments:

  1. I'm sure you will have a wonderful relationship with your Juki! I have one and love it! Does your spool of thread stand upright or lie flat? I was having terrible trouble with the Aurifil thread breaking because I was threading it back to front. Good luck solving it!

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  2. Go you, Mrs Upgrade!
    Have fun, you deserve it xxxx

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  3. Oh, congratulations on your new and impending arrivals! You must've been very good last year! ;O)

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  4. I wanna get a juki someday! That 241 tote with the hope valley is gorgeous!! Lucky SIL!!

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  5. Ooh, that's my dream machine! Does it really go as fast as they say it does? I have a lead foot and my machine can never go fast enough.

    I think we have that camera but a few years older. It really is super easy to use and takes great shots. Or can if you hold it still!

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  6. Congrats on your new machine. I've had my Pfaff for four months and I don't know how I lived without it. Ha. Good luck on the Aurifil thread. My Pfaff hates it.

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  7. Nicke, I have a slightly older version of that camera and I LOVE it. But, i did receive a lovely Nikon D-SLR from DH and well, I love that one too!!! Enjoy your new machine :)

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  8. congrats on your new toys! i dream of a thread cutter, such a fun feature! I hope your new girl warms up to Aurifil for ya, maybe she's just shy?? lol Happy New Year to you, wish you lots of health, happiness and creativity!

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  9. Happy New Year my dear. Look at the size of the opening in that machine!! Awesome.

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  10. Happy New Year. In MHO your not missing out on anything with the Janome Horizon. I had one and we didn't "bond" I hear good things about the Juki

    Sometimes when top thread doesn't pick up the bobbin thread its because you are threading with your presser foot down. Make sure your threading with your pressure foot up. It allows the thread to correctly flow thru the path.

    Happy 2013

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  11. congrats on your new additions! I'm about to be sewing machine-less for awhile as my horizon is having some hiccups. i almost don't know what to do with myself. i guess I'll have to cozy up to some knitting for awhile.

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  12. One of my IRL friends has a juki and she loves it over her Bernina! Neither of our machines (mine is a bernina) likes Aurifil. We both use Essentials which I can give you a good source for if you want! It's so much cheaper too. ;)

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  13. Hmm, I know next to nothing about juki machines... I'll need to go do some "research."
    Enjoy your new toys!!

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  14. Yay for new toys!! The Juki has been on my short list for a while. I've heard lots of good stuff about it, and I can't afford a Bernina or a Horizon for sure. Many of my non-quilting sewing friends who make clothes swear by it, and I think it's gaining popularity with quilters!

    I'd really love to hear about your experiences quilting with it in the future, and how it does with a walking foot.

    Have fun!!

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  15. Super fun! I'm glad you are loving your new machine. You deserve it! You will be unstoppable!

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  16. awesome awesome!!! I really would love to get a juki, just have to find an excuse to get it (and a place to keep it, ha) Love the bags of course!

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  17. So fun, on both counts! I keep thinking I want a Juki for my next machine/splurge. Keep us posted on how you like it please :-)

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  18. Such fun fabulous toys! I love my machine but for some reason I keep thinking I need more machines, ha ha!

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  19. Hey did it come with a scant quarter inch foot? That's what I use for piecing and it's amazing.

    I'm still stumped on the the whole thread issue. If it wasn't grabbing the bottom thread it makes me think it wasn't threaded correctly? Or the bobbin was backwards. Hum. Have you tried again?

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  20. So awesome!! Way to treat yourself in the new year...I am jealous of your thread cutter. And if it has auto needle down, I am even more jealous. Those are the only two things I wish I had on mine. :) Can't wait to see all that you make/take with your new toys!

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  21. Awesome new toys! We'll be machine twins too, or I guess your sister and I will be (I have the Juki 2010).

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  22. Awesome!! The new machine looks awesome, the camera looks awesome-- both will keep you busy (in a fun way!). Can't wait to see what else you create with your new toys! Love the 241 totes, you can add me to the list of people you can make one for :)
    Also-- my machine has been finicky about thread, too. It's not a Juki (it's a husquvarna), but I found that it would skip stitches like crazy when I FMQ with aurifil. These machines have their own personalities, I guess!

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  23. I want a Juki! Keep us updated on how it sorts out =)

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  24. Quick question... did you consider the Juki F400? Someone is trying to convince me of it, but my instinct says go with the Q series that's not computerized....

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  25. Nicke, would you mind saying privately what you paid? There was one on CL here that seemed cheap but stayed up forever it seemed (a month!). I considered it, but I bought two machines off CL just prior to xmas (an old computerized Janome, and then a Bernina), and my husband would have blown a gasket, so I didn't act on it. Jenny

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thank you...