Hi Deb....well first off how old is your Bernina...is she older then 10-15 yrs...if so you might want to get another machine...if shes young and things arent going to cost a lot for repairs then have her repaired......in the mean time if you want something not to expensive look into buying a new one on HSN.....you can go online to hsn click on crafts and you will see all the sewing machines they have and watch videos on each one and their fairly in-expensive.......I will tell you a short story here I had one of those Kenmore 100 lb machines and I never moved it...as you said it was heavy but I di all my sewing on it and I wish I still had it...it died after 20 yrs so I parted with it.....I then bought a Brother it was computerized and I still have it and its the lightest machine I ever had....you dont have to use a pedal...it has designer stitches....but its so light that when I do quilting it just couldnt handle the weight of all that fabric so I use the machine mostly for small projects...and last year I bought the Singer Futura.....it embroiders, sews, quilts and serges this machine is amazing...Ive always wanted an embroidery machine but I wasnt going to pay a zillion dollars for one so I got this one thru HSN...easy pays and got loads of feet and software for designs etc...the best part is you can d/l any designs online for every machine out there as I said its amazing the price was $ 800.00 at the time but now you can get it at Joanns and some quilt stores and thats my story......so I think you just have to sort out in your mind what you like best...I wish the best...but dont always think that the most expensive machine is the route to go...because it isnt.....Trish