I've had a Brother CS6000 for about 8 years now. It weighs 8 lbs., fits in a quilted FW bag, and works great. I take it to all my classes.

I have a Janome Mini Sew and I love it. It's a little work horse and very light. It's not like your going to use it day in and day out. I got mine at Hancocks for $49 (usually it's $79). They just had them on sale.

I would snoop around thrift stores and ebay for a vintage machine. I've seen some very good buys for solid machines for around $25 on ebay. I'm sure you can find a small portable. IMHO, Ikea is a fun place to shop for kids, teens, and cheapy barware, etc., but not a sewing machine.

~ Cindy

I am fairly new to the idea of shopping at IKEA. I bought some bath towels there and love them. They are good ol thick cotton towels that absorb water! I have tried many places for towels including some higher end places only to be able to see through them after the first washing.

CS6000i is a great lightweight inexpensive machine that both my daughter and I can recommend. I bought mine from Walmart online, but I see amazon sells them as well. I'm not sure about the Ikea machine. I'd have to try it first. We have had many Ikea pieces of furniture over the years and have had no problems with them. Including bunkbeds that withstood two big rambunctious boys.....and it's still standing. I'm am an Ikea fan.

I'm in the market for a small sewing machine to take over-seas. I have had pretty good luck with IKEA stuff that I have purchased (not a lot), and we are going to Chicago next month, so I'll check out the Schaumburg site. They don't sell on the web, only in store.

I love Ikea and so happy they now ship since there isn't one within 200 miles of me.

I know that periodically JoAnn's has Singer machines for $99 to $299, and they sell similar Singer machines at Wal-Mart. You can also go to your local sewing machine center and they could probably offer you a good deal on a used machine, one that someone had traded in on a newer/different machine. Wherever you buy the machine, be sure to try it out to see if it's in your comfort zone. Good luck.

What about the Janome Gem?