I mostly lurk here but today's my day off so I have some time.I don't have a Janome but most machines are basicly the same. Machine applique leave the feed dogs up. Just go slow and you'll have time to move your fabric. My machine will just make the blanket stitch in one dirction some machines will do both directions so you need to figure that out. The zig zag foot should have a wide enough opening that you will be able to make as big a blanket stitch as you want but I always slowly check this out so I don't break a needle. If you want to do a satin stitch you will still leave the feed dogs up and let them help you feed the material through the machine. Threading if its hard to get the spool thread below the foot just pull it to the side and hang onto it while you take the first couple of stitches. Curved piecing I wouldn't use the darning foot just use the regular foot and go slowly to feed the material in. Its something that takes practice. I use my darning foot only when I want to free motion quilt and thats when you drop the feed dogs. When you do free motion quilting you are in control of feeding the material threw the machine and thats the tricky thing to learn so that you get nice looking stitches. Hope some of this helps, just keep playing with your new machine and you'll figure it out. Do they have classes where you bought the machine? That would be a good idea if it will work out for you. Good luck and have fun! Peg

Congrats on your new machine Peg. I know you'll learn to love it & all it can do.
I'd suggest Harriet Hargrave's book on machine applique, very good. The secrets aren't so much in the machine as in the technique, which is univeral. She has a wonderful machine quilting book too.
Feed dogs remain up except for machine quilting.
When you do machine curved piecing use a regular or quarter seam foot, always have the "smile"(concave) on top,(make sure the ends meet squarely) take 3 stitches, keep the needle down in the fabric then start slowly working just doing a few stitches at a time, use a metal stileto which will hold both the top & bottom together a short distance ahead of your stitching. If you use the stilelto & slowly feed your pieces you will only need a pin at the beginning the middle & the end. Probably more tha you want to know, right? Jill

Good advise but thought I would put in my 2 cents.
I have a Janome which I like. When I machine applique the feed dogs are up. I like to use the open toed foot so I can see where I am stitching. When I start I bring the bobbin thread up through the fabric so that both threads are on top (to do that hand turn the wheel and the needle with bring up a loop of thead that I pull to the top). The machine programs the stitch but you can change the width and lenght as you choose. I suggest practicing to see what meets yor needs.
Curved piecing I do with my 1/4" foot, feed dogs up.
The only time I lower my feed dogs is when I am doing free motion quilting or when it is automatic embroidery mode. I am not sure if your model has embrodiery capabilities.
Sometimes the dealer will have classes on how to use the different feet etc. You might find that helpful.
Jayne

Do you know anyone who sews at all that could show you how? I think that could help you and give you confidence too.

I have the 4800QC. You want the "F" foot. The clear plastic one. Feed dogs up. Needle down. It'll start with a lock stitch. One stitch is..needle forward..back..forward..sideways..back. For curves do the needle forward..back..forward..stop and turn your piece and then do the sideways.
It's a very slow process..as slow as hand sewing but...you get even beautiful results and you don't have to keep rethreading needles or worry about snarling your thread.
patience is a virtue!
Bon
:)

Thanks so much for all the info and advice--it has been very helpful. I purchased the machine from a dealer in Texas (even though I live in VA) because the price was much better than I could get from a local dealer. My husband is in the Marine Corps, so we move often and I couldn't see spending an extra $500 on the machine just to have a good relationship with a dealer who will be 6000 miles away from us three months from now. I am considering taking some classes once school is out, but at the moment I'm taking several academic classes and working full-time, so I won't have much spare time for that until May.