My husband travels quite a bit for work and the kids and I often go with him. We spend a lot of time in the mornings in the hotel while he works and I've often wished I could continue working on my projects while away from the house. I currently have a Bernina 820 and portable is just not a word used to describe that machine! I'm just wanting to do some piecing while away, not any quilting. I know the featherweights are excellent for being toted around but I was wondering if there were currently any models on the market that were also great for on the go work.

I've looked at the new Bernina 3 series but their still a little bigger than I want to tote around, and their price is more than I'd like to spend for an occasional travel machine. All I plan on doing is a basic 1/4" piecing stitch so the more basic the machine, the better.

Anyone have recommendations or advice?

Hi Rachel! :lol: I thought the Bernina 200 series were the lightweight machines? I have a Janome Jem Platinum that's 12 lbs and perfect for traveling with. They're very easy to use, very affordable and sounds just like what you're looking for. Good luck! :thumbup:

The janome Jem (?)comes to mind.

http://content.janome.com/index.cfm/...ing/Jem_Gold_3

Janome makes a machine called the 760 Platinum that is very portable. It weighs 11 pounds and has an automatic needle down function an a fair amount of stitches for the size of the machine. Babylock also has a machine callled the Little Audrey that does pretty much the same thing as the Platinum and I think is less expensive.

Check out the Brother machines at Wal-Mart. They are not costly and light-weight. I have one that I use when I don't want to take my FW>

Here's a link to a Brother sold at Walmart and here are the parts you might want to consider:
Shipping Weight (in pounds): 14.9
Product in Inches (L x W x H): 14.8 x 6.1 x 11.5
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Brother-LS...chine/15126418
Would this work for you?

[I see Boopers and I had the same idea :-) ]

I hadn't even looked at the Activas but I'm pretty sure they're even more expensive than the 300 series, or at least comparable in cost.

Since I have zero experience with other machine brands I knew I could find some help here! Both the Janome Jem and Babylock Audrey look like exactly what I'm looking for! I guess I'll have to go look at the dealer in town that sells Janome, Vikings and a few other brands.

A used Jem Platinum would be very affordable, but the one that replaced it last May has more features. I believe the new one is about $800. It's the Janome 3160. http://content.janome.com/index.cfm/...ilting/3160QDC

Check out Hancock Fabrics. I have a little sew mini that I paid 39.99 for and use it when I travel. I think it is a childs machine, but it works great for making blocks!

Actually, I was looking at this one... it has fewer stitches but has a snap-on foot feature, whereas the other one is described as a manual foot.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Brother-14...ndingMethod=rr