I take my simple old straight stitch singer to most classes/workshops- as long as i'm just piecing, do not need any special stitches, applications. nothing to go wrong, no costly repairs, easy to take worry free. it's not any heavier than my computerized machines, I don't have to worry about it being knocked around, it sews beautifully. I also don't have to take a bunch of extra stuff with it. if I need more options from a machine for a class/workshop I take my 3/4 Janome- it has the extras needed, is smaller/lighter than my big, extreme Viking- is easy to carry and does the job- but I 99% of the time take the singer- it's my travel-work horse.
