I have a question, I have a Bernina 153 that I've had for about 8 years and truly love it. The one thing that I don't like is having to haul it with me for a class or retreat. My question is...do any of you have a smaller "travel" size sewing machine? I have thought about the Janome Gem or the Janome AQS2009 machine. I could really use your opinions. If you were going to get a little machine which would you recommend? Thanks for your help!

I have a gem and love it!

I have a Brother CS4000 that I got refurbished from Overstock.com and I love it. It isn't my Bernina, but it is a nice little machine, that I can use to piece while Sadie (my Bernina) is embroidering. It has about 30 stitches and there are 7 mm decorative stitches, which my Bernina 440QE didn't even have. That isn't available now but the CS6000 is and it is $149 with $2.95 shipping. It came with a full warranty. You can adjust the needle position to the right or left, and adjust the length and width of the stitches. It isn't nearly as heavy as either of the Bernina's I have or have had.

I recently won a Janome Gem Silver edition. It weighs about 12 pounds and is nice enough, but it only has about 12 or 14 stitches and they are preset. You can't adjust the length of the stitch and you can't move the needle position. I don't know how much they cost new, but I think for the money I would go with one like the Brother CS6000 or CS4000 if you can find it.

Those puppies are heavy. I did not like hauling computerized machine to class and group sew so I found Featherweight and take that. Usually I am not doing anything really special at group sew. And it has a cute little case!

I bought a Brother at Costco. It only weights 8 pounds! It is great for taking to classes. My other machine is a Pfaff. I am very happy with both!

LuckyLindy- I have the same machine and it's a bear to haul. I just got a Featherweight and will take it to classes. I've also used the machines at the shops.

I have a small machine from Sears to take to class and is a good little work horse.

I have the AQS 2009. I bought it specifically for traveling. It has all the features I was looking for (same as the Gem 720) and it was under $300. I started using it about 3 weeks ago and I have to say that it is a nice little machine. The light is not bright enough so I use the bendable bright light and it did not come standard with a 1/4 foot or walking foot so I had to purchase those extra. The bobbins are all plastic but seem to work fine. My biggest concern was the walking foot going over larger seems but today I was sewing tabs on a purse and both the tabs and the part of the purse I was attaching them to had batting and it sewed without a problem. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions...

Thanks for your input...I will be looking into those options.

Don't forget to go to your Bernina dealer or other dealers in your area. Sometimes you can pick up a gently used machine with a warranty for a decent price.

Also, Bernina now sells a smaller, lighter machine similar to one of the Jem models. They were selling them vvery reasonably priced (new) at the Lancaster Quilt show. I am sure the sale is no longer on, but if you talk to your Bernina dealer, you might be able to get a good deal.

Happy hunting!