First of all, you will not find a truly lightweight machine with an auto thread cutter because the cutting mechanism adds quite a bit of weight. That said, if you can live without that, the Janome Jem Platinum 60 is an awesome machine and weighs about 12 lbs. If you really do need the thread cutter, the Janome 6500P weighs 29 lbs and is a true workhorse. They also now make a 6300P that has a few less bells and whistles. I don't know much about it other than what I have read. A lot of people seem to like the Brother Cs6000i for portability. I have a Brother that I bought for classes and am going to sell because I find I just cannot live without the thread cutter! It is a great machine though but I can't remember the model number. Will have to look at it and then had thought about posting here for sale. Anyway, through with my soapbox now. Good luck in your search.