i vote for featherweight

Featherweight!!! Watch Ebay. Well....guess it depends on your budget.

I have a late 80's phaff 1467. It is great for traveling and I bought the 1/4 inch foot and works great.

I have 2 Brother machines, both are less than $200 from overstock.com.

The Brother CE5500 is $109, has 50 stitches, and comes with walking foot, 1/4 inch foot, and hopping foot. Very lightweight and I love it.

The Brother XR9000 is $169, has 100 stitches and a built in alphabet. This does not come with 1/4 inch foot, but is heavier duty. I love it too.

These machines are refurbished for this price, but they come with a 25 year warranty. My mom bought both of them, also. We have had no problems.

My personal choice is the featherweight, but then I'm a Luddite. I don't like machines with electronic components.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I totally vote for a Featherweight! They are fabulous machines!!!

Singer 301-feed dogs drop for fmq, has a slant shank so you can see everything, very easy to maintain.....and even though it will never happen-if something goes wrong-you can do the repair yourself because it's mechanical. That's why so many vintage machines are still around for 60, 100 or 130 years, they were built to last with quality parts!

For cheap and lightweight I would go with a basic Brother. Mine has served me very well. It is not particular about threads or fabrics and doesn't need regular maintenance other than me cleaning out the chenille from the bobbin case!!