I have a Janome MC 8000...but I am not sure about the "CE"...I bought it in 1989 and it still works like a champ...both sewing and embroidery modes...The embroidery is excellent....I would say that you might be surprised at how noisy it is compared to today's machines...it might make a kind of "loud" grrrr noise when you put it into the embroidery mode...I know when I took it to a class a couple of years ago and put it into the embroidery mode..the class turned around to see what the "problem" was....and the Janome dealer said...oh, that's the normal sound it makes...the only tricky thing there is to it is trying to match up lettering..if she has the cloth setter, it shouldn't be that big of a problem...I would suggest selecting a simple design...or perhaps just some lettering from Memory Card 1 to begin with...after you see how it goes...move on to another more complex design...I used this as my embroidery machine from 1989 to 2009 when I got the MC10000 SE...which Janome replaced twice with a new machine...ultimately I had to return it as well...I then got the Baby Lock Ellisimo...If it sews the lettering...It should be okay for the cards as well...good luck and keep us posted!

I also have the MC8000 and bought it in about 1989. The embroidery is beautiful if limited in size. It's easy to use, very straight forward. My kids grew up wearing designs done with this machine. The cloth setter makes it foolproof to perfectly place designs on garments and to group designs to make larger scenarios. I sure hope she has it. I have an Ellageo BLL but still use the 8000 at times (I have some favorites) for embroidery and it's my go to machine for sewing although I'm trying hard to bond with my brother. Have fun, because it is! Please keep us posted on your progress.

I also have an 8000 , which gave me many years of great sewing and embroidery , as the others have said its only a small embroidery area, but they do stitch out well , my screen has gone now ,so I can only use it for stright sewing , but it works well onmy quilt frame ,good luck

The 8000 was my 1st Embroidery machine. Loved it but upgraded as new ones became available. I have stopped at the 11000 SE as I see no point in upgrading further at this stage. Best of luck with helping your friend. I am sure she will get hooked on Embroidery. Hugs

I have an 8000, still love it and use it for sewing. I have a Babylock Ellageo that I now use for embroidery but I used the 8000 all the time for embroidery before I got my new one. You can combine small designs to make larger layouts and it works very nicely if you have a "cloth setter" that is a separate accessory. If you have specific question, just PM me and I'll try to help.

I also have an 8000 & enjoy using it for sewing now. My display has become dim & the stepping motor has caused some problems with stitching. I purchased a replacement backlight that we haven't installed as yet. With a machine of this age, a new backlight to keep on reserve might be a good idea.
http://www.janomememorycraft.com/

Sue - just cannot get my head around these machines that do both. I am sure that you will be a real help to your neighbour. Wish you success

Reporting back:
The machine was OK in sewing mode and seemed OK in Embroidery until I pressed the ordinary sewing button (prior to switching off to change the card.) The carriage moved so far back towards base and then stopped, making a horrible racket. It did this for a few seconds then stopped, not quite in the right position. The screen said "Stepping motor error". I could find nothing about this in the manual. Any ideas?