Looking for a machine for travelling
 

My husband and I went yo visit my daughter that lives in the mountains. There is a darling quilt shop in the small town. We are planning to visit on a regular basis. The mountains were so peaceful. I an considering on purchasing a machine only for travel purposes. I have a Bernina at home as that is what my local shop sells. The shop in the mountains sells Janome. The offer great classes. I don't know if I should go with a Vernon's because that's what I'm used to, a Jsnome because that's. Whet the shop in the mountains sells or something entirely different since it wont be my primary machine. I would like to keep the cost at a minimum also.

Have you considered vintage? Singer 301 is a lightweight machine. They show up on Craigslist for under $100 pretty regularly; I've even gotten them for free.

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If this is just a traveling machine I would go to Walmart and buy a small Brother machine. You will get more options for your money than with a Janome at the LQS. If you want to buy the machine from them so you can get the classes for free or at a discount then buy the light weight Janomes. I love my Janome MC6600P and my Husqvarna Topaz, but my traveling machine is a Europro bought from HSN many years ago for $100.00. If something happens to it, I don't have a lot invested in it. Since then I have bought a featherweight and that will be my next traveling machine when my Europro dies.

I agree with the idea of a vintage machine too. They are not that delicate and traveling can be hard on a machine.

If you are going to leave the machine there, then I would go with the Janome.....if any problems arise you have a dealer to go to. Walmart machines are cheap for a reason....most repairmen won't even look at them. Sometimes you are lucky and don't need a repairman, but odds are not in your favour. The 300 series of the Bernina are great, they are pricier than the Janome, but again you would have a place to take it to. I bought a featherweight thinking I would use it, but I don't... it is for sale now.

The local repairman has a back room full of Walmart machines. He showed them to me when I stopped to get a new thread holder for one of my vintage machines. My traveling machine is a vintage Singer 99 which cost me $40 at an estate sale. Love it.

Wa Featherweight is great for a straight stitch and smaller projects for the most part. If you need more stitches, I'd consider a Janome. Could you visit the shop with some small quilt sandwiches and see if they'll let you try a few machines out? Most of the machines come with a lot of feet now. I bet if you sewed on a few, you'd be able to tell if you'd like them.

I have my little Featherweight that travels with me but it doesn't have any fancy stitches. If you have a collection of Bernina feet for your home machine you might consider that and purchase another so that the feet are interchangeable.

I have a Singer 301A and a Featherweight. But my favourite machine to travel with is a Brother cs6000i. It has 50+ stitches, needle up/down, a self-threader, a 1/4" seam setting, and is a real workhorse. I've sewn everything from sheers to jeans on it. Amazon sells it for around $140.00. Weighs right between a Featherweight and 301A. I had a Janome Gem, but sold it because it is really limited on stitches and stitch lengths.

I love my Janome Gem Platinum. It is my travel machine and a real workhorse. You couldn't go wrong with one.

Husqvana viiking 100 h. Small lightweight with plenty of stitches needle threader, needle down, needle moves etc..Will you have electric , if not it will have to be an old steady eddy hand singer or similiar.

It may be best to get the Janome, I hear so many good things about them, I have a big one but not a traveling one, but since you have a dealer close by it may be a good thing.

I like my Janome lightweight...

I have a Janome 3160. Weighs 11 lbs and is a full feature machine. It's a little price (sells for $699 at my store) but I've had mine for a year and never had a problem. At classes the room is filled with them as they are such a great full feature lightweight machine. Has a large sewing shelf that makes piecing and sewing so much easier. My friend also has a less expensive Janome Gem and loves it as just a piecing machine.

I have the Janome Platinum 760 (I think that's the #)....We RV full time and I have made 3 quilts this past winter. :) I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Janome....It's lightweight and easy to use.

Any of the Janome Gems, silver, Gold or Platinum. When I bought a janome Gem Silver there was an option to buy a quilting package. It had everything from the walking foot, detachable table and the case included. It also quilts great!

My Walmart Brother machines have lasted for a while with no problems. One, that I took on a trip, fell out of the car. It looked fine on the outside, but apparently suffered internal injuries. Not a big deal, as i only paid $89 for it new and it had lasted 6 years without a problem.

Well, there was one problem - me and my ignorance! I didn't know they had to be cleaned. It stopped sewing, so I took it apart to figure out what was wrong. There was 1/4" of packed lint under the needle plate. Cleaned it out and it ran like new again.

Now I clean my machines regularly. Lesson learned.

I agree with Sally J. I have had my 3160 for 4 yrs. & have never regretted buying it. It, too, is my "travel" machine but I also bring it in the living room when I want to watch something special on TV.

I have Brother, Janome, FW and 301's. Each on has traveled with me to retreats, AZ or church. If my daughter was in the Mts and near a Janome shop I definitely would go with the Janome. Maybe they even have a used one that you could get classes for. They have more metal in them than the Brother so I expect them to last longer. Lucky you to get to sew in a beautiful area.

I have three Janomes and love them. They are lightweight and easy to carry. I also have a 1975 Viking that I use to use but it is very heavy and I haven't used it for years. I would definitely go with the Janome. Let us know what you decided to do

I travel with a small older model Pfaff. Pre-computer so I can plug it in anywhere and do not need a power bar. It has very basic stitches. It is a durable machine and I love it. You can get older Pfaffs online. If you choose this, be sure it is a model that was made in Germany.

Just remember that if you are doing a project on a certain machine, that it is best to do the whole project on the same one. Even a slight variation in seamlines can make a huge difference on a quilt top.

My travel/class machine is a Bernina 350. It's small enough that it doesn't take too much room in my car . . .and even fits perfectly in the SWA overhead bin when I fly. But most importantly, I can use my Bernina feet and most accessories on both machines.

I have two vintage Singer Featherweight machines that I love for quilting classes. That said, my travel machine is a 70's vintage Elna Lotus. Just as light weight but also does zigzag and a few other utility stitches so if I have to make a clothing repair, I have what I need. Sweet little machine, the sides fold up to form the case. I bought mine at a garage sale but I see the prices going up on them. I sew on a Bernina at home too, and I really miss it's features when I use one of my vintage machines. I think I would recommend a 200 or 300-series Bernina so you are familiar with it and all you accessories will fit.

Looks like you are getting as many different answers as there are machines. As far as piecing a quilt, the Featherweight is my all time favorite. You just have to figure for yourself what you need in a machine.

I am taking my 301 singer to the retreats. love it. I have a brother machine as well and a singer from a box store that my son got me. nothing runs like an old singer in my HO.

I have a Janome Gem that I take to classes - great machine! It's always reassuring to know that there is a dealer near by.

Make a list of the features you need this machine to have in order to be happy.

DON'T just buy something super cheap if that's going to aggravate you when you actually go to use it.

For me, my "must have" list included the scissor cut button. I do foundation-pieced crazy quilts and that button makes my life a lot easier. I also really wanted to be able to share bobbins between my travel machine and my main machine, so I made sure they'd be compatible. I also wanted to get a machine that came with an extension bed.

My main machine is a Janome 6600, so I bought a Janome 3160 to be my travel companion as it hit 100% of my "must haves" on my list. It's a pretty great machine, it can't quite handle the heavy layers like the big machine can but for piecing and general sewing it's wonderful. It's NOT a cheap machine, but for me it was worth the expense.

Ironically, I got into vintage machines immediately after buying her, and now rotate machines I take with me on vacation so she doesn't go on as many trips now! I just need to go on MORE vacations! LOL (She's still my primary machine to take to classes, though.)

I have a Janome Jem and love it.

Be very careful whatever machine you buy and ensure that your seams are the same on your travel and home machine. I bought a Kenmore from Sears as a travel machine. It had a 1/4 foot for quilting. I thought I had made sure it was a correct 1/4" on seams and took it to a class. Pieced some strips there then went home and finished up on my Bernina. Then I found that they didn't match. A tiny difference in a seams grows to a large difference if there are a lot of pieces in a strip.

Personally I like having the same brand machine (Baby Lock for me) at home and for travel. My travel machine was purchased used on ebay at a really good price. It sews well. The feet are interchangeable between my big home machine and the smaller machine. It is fairly light and has nice features as well. I did invest in a rolling tote to lug it around and to store it when not in use.

Brother machines are nice and light for travel. Try looking online for their refurbished machines. Or get one from Walmart, that's what I did and I've been quite happy with it for 3 years.

I have 4 Janome's and wouldn't use anything else. They are extremely reliable, user friendly, and are work horses. I have 2 Jem Gold's, one non computerized and the other one computerized. They only weigh 11 lbs and are great for traveling, taking to a class, etc. I highly recommend you consider a Jem Gold. The price is good, and I just can't say enough about the machine. Have never had a problem of any kind with any of my Janome's.
Marcia in Crowley

I am a Bernina person, but if I was travelling to a particular place regularly and the only store in the area sold Janome's, I'd probably go ahead and purchase one. That said, I love my Featherweights and would probably leave one of them there, too. The FW is a workhorse, lightweight, and very uncomplicated to use and to maintain.

If we are traveling, I bring one of my two featherweights with me. We have a weekend place about 300 miles from our house and I bought a Janome from Sew Direct. It has about 20 decorative stiches. It was right about $300 with no shipping. I am more than pleased with it. I set up a sewing room at our weekend place and stocked with all my duplicate items. The only thing I bought was the Janome and a 8 l/2 x 24" ruler. Everything else came from my home sewing room. When we go, I precut several quilts that I might work on while there (It gives me a choice to work on) What I don't finish I bring home and I try to leave 2 or 3 precut projects at the weekend place.

Rather than purchasing a "travel" machine, how about just buying one you like and keeping it at your daughters?? Dragging any machine around may make complications and since you will be staying at the same place, makes sense to me???

I have a Pfaff Passport 2.0, its about $500-600, comes with the IDT(built in full time walking foot). It has lots of stitches and weighs about 13 pounds. Its my travel machine, goes with me to quilt sew days.
Sharon

I have a Bernina at home also. I bought a Brother SQ 9000 at Walmart for about $200. It weighs about 10 pounds. I take it on vacations and to classes.

I purchased a Janome Gem a few years ago to take to workshops. Its light and I haven't had any problems either. But, when I go away for a weekend getaway, I always take my Bernina, I'm more comfortable with it.

Another vote for the Janome Jem. I have the Platinum (about $500), and it's a great little machine. I also have a Janome 6600, so the bobbins and feet are interchangeable. Having a dealer in the area is very important.

The machine I liked for carrying around was my Brother cs6000i from Walmart. Besides being light weight I loved to piece on it. Also it was under $200.00. Can't remember the price for sure because it has been awhile.