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Unboxing Minerva: the new Janome M7 Continental!

What a BEAST! I think this machine may be able to do everything but cook and do the dishes (Janome: hint hint LOL!). While visiting with Janome America staff (Regena, that’d be you) at International Quilt Market in Houston, I was thrilled to learn that Janome wanted me to take this beauty for a test drive, blog and share and sew on it for the next year! THANK YOU JANOME, and yes indeed-y I am shouting! I’ve been beyond lucky to be a Janome Artisan since 2003–don’t ask me how I’ve lasted this long, I’m not sure, but I’m just really proud to be affiliated with them (I’m not an employee but all opinions are honest and unvarnished).


Today I’ll share a quick video of the unboxing. Then I have Christmas gifts to make, so I will share various things and features that I have found. So far I know I’m going to miss the flip-up chart of the stitches, but there are so many other beyond **amazing** features that I can cope–and photocopy the pages in the manual for ready reference! I’ll get to learn about the new AcuSpark phone app that one can use for tutorials and tips using the on-screen QR codes on how to use the machine, and I am in love before even turning it on with the new built in antenna thread stand, the fact that the antenna collapses so I can actually USE the COVER on the machine easily, not to mention the massive harp space. One bit of advice: you may need help hoisting this machine onto your table!

This box is so big that *I* could fit inside it! Widgeon is so impressed (and deaf and nearly blind) that he doesn’t realize he has a cookie on the floor in front of him!

As for the name: the Janome 7700, from some years ago, was the most beautiful ruby red on the front. I’m not much of a red fan but boy do I miss that face plate! So, as a fan of the Harry Potter books, I named that beastie Rubeus Hagrid (the gamekeeper). When I had the 15000 top of the line on loan, of course it had to be Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all time. Later, the silver-faced 9400 (and its heir the 9450) became Gandalf the Grey, because we love the Lord of the Rings, too.

BUT, I decided it was time for a POWERFUL WOMAN, so I have named her Minerva McGonagall, headmistress of Gryfindor and one of the bravest, stronger, most powerful and wise witches of all time. Here’s to Minerva!

13 Responses to “Unboxing Minerva: the new Janome M7 Continental!”

  1. jeannie Says:

    I love the name you chose! I am so envious. I keep looking and then I tell myself I don’t “need” a new machine. I’ve never owned a brand spanking new machine. I think the lust I feel must be like some guys do when they’ve always bought used and finally buy a new car. So, does Minerva have that just out of the box, never stitched an inch aroma? Have fun learning your new machine!

  2. Kimberly Says:

    Awesome unveiling, Sarah!!!

  3. Denise Shaulis Says:

    I love those names! We are fans of Lord of the rings and Harry Potter. Have fun!

  4. Janis Doucette Says:

    Ah! New meaning for this Thanksgiving Day! Good for you!

  5. Sarah Ann Smith Says:

    LOL! I won’t get much sewing done this week obviously, but maybe a little today!

  6. Sarah Ann Smith Says:

    Then you’ll love our pug’s name: Pigwidgeon, after Ron Weasley’s owl!

  7. Sarah Ann Smith Says:

    Thanks…always want to do right by Janome, who have been SO GOOD to me for SO LONG!

  8. Sarah Ann Smith Says:

    I don’t know if it this time, but at least once in your life one new one is good…. I love my 1933 Featherweight, but I’ve led a very lucky life. My mother saw how much I loved sewing and (since her old green Singer hated me) gave me my own Singer Stylist for 8th grade graduation! After college, when I got into the Foreign Service, my dad upgraded me to a Viking 135 in 1983 which I still have. I used to think it was the most amazing machine ever! I sewed on that 15+ years, but got the quilting bug in the mid-90s which led to a series of machines, then me meeting the Janome 6500 in 2003, where I’ve had a love affair with them since.

    Janome has been SO GOOD to me–and I try to be good back. If there are things I’m not wild about I’ll say so (very very few over the years), but I would say all the good stuff if I had paid full MSRP. All the quality at a fraction of the price of some machines. Anyway, THANKS! I’ll blog more. And yes, there is that aroma LOL! I have been stroking her painted surface lovingly and found a bunch of awesome improvements/changes that I’ll be sharing. I kept taking photos of the screens so I could remember it all!

  9. Franki Kohler Says:

    Early Christmas for you. I will be watching for your assessments of the improvements.

  10. Sarah Ann Smith Says:

    Thanks Denise…I feel a movie binge-a-thon coming on!

  11. Sarah Ann Smith Says:

    I am blown away by this machine. If you’ve got a 9450 or 8900, no real need to upgrade. But if you have a 6600 that has a billion miles on it, this might just be the one. It’s irksome that what I am doings making gifts so can’t share yet, but I hope to review in a week or two. Most machines are incremental improvements. This is more like a leap!

  12. Annette Says:

    Hi Sarah Ann,
    I am looking forward to hear about your experiences with this impressive sewing machine!

  13. Sarah Ann Smith Says:

    I am absolutely in love with it. It really is a BIG change from previous machines (well, as far as there can be Big…it is still a sewing machine lol). If you’ve got a machine that you like and works well like the 9450 or 9400 or 8900, keep using it. But if you have say a 6600 that you have used into a well-deserved worn out state over a busy decade, this may well be the replacement you’ve dreamed about.