I have both a Featherweight and a Janome Gem. The Gem is my traveling machine as I would hate to have anything happen to the Featherweight. The Gem has been been inspected by TSA, dropped from an overhead bin, left in a rental car trunk and it's still working like a champ. A rolling case is an absolute must have and JoAnn's will have a couple of choices. I got tired of gathering up my tools every time and now have a separate set of everything which is always kept in the rolling case. I use a cosmetic bag to hold the travel set of pins, bobbins, rotary cutter, scissors, snips, seam gauge, thread, etc.
You are a real sweetheart to get her a travel machine. Wish her a happy birthday from all of us on the Quilting Board.