It seems to me the most time consuming part of packing sewing stuff to take to retreats is not packing the machine but packing all the other paraphemalia like the scissors, thread, extra needles, sewing machine oil, pins, rulers, rotary cutter and blades, etc. etc. Packing for a retreat might seem less burdensome if you either have second set of this kind of stuff or if you stored it in a bag or box that you access when at home and can also just grab and take with when traveling.