abdconsultant

I take my Bernina sport 801 or my singer 221 depending on the class, perfect!

dakotamaid

Janome Gen is lightweight and easy to use. There are several models of it and this one is mine.

http://www.overstock.com/Crafts-Sewi...9-001b2166c62d

greensleeves

Janone Gem Gold is the machine I take. Several people in my guild have recently purchased the DC1050 to take to classes and love them. Also a few others with Janome Gem. They are lightweight and reliable therefore perfect for carrying to class. Everyone has some type of rolling case to move from car to class but the best part is the ease in lifting from case to table. The acrylic extension is nice to have also.

BellaBoo

I have a Janome Gold I bought for toting around to sew days. It it lightweight and sews great. The con of the older model is no handle on the machine! I keep wanting to pick it up by the spool pin. There are many great portable machines to choose with all the convenient features on the market now.

mckwilter

I usually take my Singer 221 Featherweight for class/retreat/workshop if I don't need any bells or whistles. For straight stitching, it's the best. To have some zigzag/decorative stitches I had a Bernette for class/retreat/workshops. Then I won a Bernina 240, so if I need more than just a straight stitch, the 240 is my class machine. If I go on retreat, I usually take both the 221 and 240, just in case. My home machine is a Bernina 440, which I don't take out of the house.

stitchingcrazy

Snap. I have the Little Janome Gem that weighs 12lbs. It's easy to set up and has plenty of stitches to play with. It depends what type of work shop you are doing with the machine as well.

yetta

I take my pfaff hobby it a little work horse and not too heavy.....

mamaw

I think you will like the features of the Janome much better. Also, I notice nobody mentioned that whatever machine you start a project on you should complete it on because they don't all give the same 1/4". It isn't a huge difference, but can matter in the size of your finished blocks and matching up intersections.

patski

I agree I would take the older machine. I was at a class and during a "break" one of the sewers machine was taken! It was not a happy afternoon!

BellaBoo

Oh my! I never heard of a machine being stolen from a class before! How horrible. Can you imagine another quilter doing this? It had to be someone who knew about sewing machines.