Need ideas to take machine to class.
 

I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem. I am unable to lift nor carry my sewing machine. Friends have been kind enough to help me get my machine to class - even the classroom instructor will carry it in. We've all been injured! Three with shoulder injuries. We have cases with wheels and I have a van. Our husbands can put the machines into the van, but how on earth do we get them into the classroom and onto the tables? I've thought of maybe something like the ambulance crews use that will slide out of the van and roll the machines into the classroom and allow us to slide them onto the table. I'm sure there are others out there who no longer go to quilt class because of the difficulty of getting a machine to class. We enjoy the company of fellow quilters and do not want to "go it alone" at home all the time. Has anyone found a solution?

I bought a Janome Jem just to take to classes. It's small and weighs a lot less than my Bernina.

I have a Janome Magnolia bought to go places but has become my machine of choice!

I have a problem with lifting as well; but I don't take any classes so my lifting problems are confined to such mundane issues as "how do I get the groceries into the house???" One thing I did was to purchase one of those carriers that look like wheeled luggage; I load it up from the car, drag it up my six outside steps, and then collapse into my house. A few times of that and I am really considering the merits of adopting a couple of teenage boys! Actually, it works well and I imagine some form of that might work for you guys as well. Like a friend of mine just said, "Getting old is NOT for wimps!" You might also look at one of the boards that allows you to load say, a lawnmower into the back of a truck...that might help as well. As to how you get it out of the van, are there not any younger people or other help you could get?

I also bought a Jem just for classes. It has been a lifesaver!

Very good question. My husband is disabled and should not lift and carry much and I have degenerative arthritis in my lower back and bursitis in my left hip which makes carrying things extremelly painful. We found a flat cart with wheels that works wonderful for transporting groceries and such from the car and moving items around the house. It has really helped us a lot; but we do not have any stairs where we live. Just thought of this, those high carts like they use in hospitals and such (not the huge ones, but the smaller ones) would they work for you to wheel it to the back of your car and be able to slide your machine onto the top of it, without lifting. For the life of me, I can not remember the proper name, but we used to have one. It had three layers and was lightweight and so easy to wheel around.
I do hope that you can find a solution that works for you.

I bought a featherweight machine I use for straight sewing classes. For classes where I need a machine that does specialty stitches I bought a little "Audry" by Baby Lock. It only weighs about 12-13 lbs and comes in a fabric case that really doesn't add much weight. I can easily carry and lift it when I need to for a class. Before those two purchases I wasn't taking classes due to the weight of my good machine.
Good luck
Kat

I just purchased a Janome 3160 as a traveling machine. It weighs about 12 lbs. :)

When my 35-year-old Kenmore became too heavy to lift easily, I did what a lot of the others have done - bought a lightweight machine that I can easily lift and carry. It's a Janome-made Kenmore and is a great backup machine too.