I am the winning bidder on ebay of a Janome MC11000!

No one bid against me!  Should I be worried?  It was expensive, but a third of the price of a new one.  There were some Pfaff Creative Vision 5.0 and 5.5s up for auction as well.  They were getting much more attention. I snooped around the web on lots of different forums.  There were a lot of complaints about the Pfaffs.  Hard to know if they were fair or if customers just had very high expectations in the first place.  People praised the Janome's ease of use and reliability.  So I went for it.  I'd love to be a Bernina girl, but the facts are: I just don't have the money.  

Janome MC11000

I was especially looking for a machine to do machine embroidery that has been digitised.  This is needed for making Irish Dancing dresses.  My oldest daughter is getting very close to needing a solo dress.  I am still keen to make it myself.  For two reasons, those dresses cost a LOT (well over £1000), but also, she is my baby!  I can't help but think that I can do better for her.  I may not be as skilled and experienced, but no one will try harder, care more, or put more effort into the job.  


For those unaware of Irish Dance dresses here is an example:

Kind of surprising for the uninitiated huh?  My husband is English, and I am American (I do have some Irish heritage, along with 15 other western European ethnicities, so I can't say I am in touch with my Irish roots, or any of the other roots for that matter!) so we were picturing "River Dance."  Instead it's sort of a baby-doll/Vegas showgirl mashup.  It doesn't prematurely sexualise the girls, phew!, but it is pretty flashy.  It's definitely not some crunchy, wet wool, folky scene.  It's modern and vibrant for sure.


I hope my new machine will help me to produce something of this caliber.  I figure I've got about six months to get to grips with it before I have to start sewing a dance dress.