Which small sewing machine to buy?
 

I am in the the market for a small sewing machine to bring to workshops and classes. Just got DH to agree to this as Christmas present. Looking in the $100 to $150 price range. I have a Viking Sapphire quilt machine which I love but it is a pain to bring to classes! Hancock and JoAnns have Brothers & Janomes at reasonable prices. ANy suggestions as to what would be a good small machine to purchase?

my lqs recommends the 3/4 machine from Janome....the one they have in the store is a little over your budget price-but they insist it is a wonderful lighter weight-perfect for classes machine.
when we had the sewing school we used many Brother machines- they were good, user friendly machines well suited for new sewers/quilters
my daughter has a White- which she loves-

I have a brother cs6000i; quite portable & comes with a hard case.

Unless you find a used one I haven't found any small machine under $150 that will hold up for long term use. I would buy a vintage Singer 301. They are easy to tote and sews like a dream and usually under $100.

A lot of quilters like the Janome Jem for classes, as ckcowl mentioned. I think this is the lowest priced one:
http://www.amazon.com/Janome-Jem-Gol...dp/B000FLH2VE/
There are others in the Jem line that have additional features -- decorative stitches, etc.

I have a small Europro from HSN, and now 2 black featherweights that travel very well. I have heard the Europro has a bad reputation, but it has worked very well for me for at least 5 years. It doesn't get used much but works when I have needed it.

If you have a Costco near you they carry Brother and some are very reasonable - my sister got hers there and it has lasted at least 10 years.

Get a cheapo brother. I use my small one all the time for classes and travel, mine was about 200 at walmart but they have refurbished ones on overstock for cheaper, got a mechanical for 109 on overstock 6 years ago still runs great.

The Brother CS6000i is currently on sale on Amazon for only $134.99. http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Afford.../dp/B000JQM1DE

I agree that Brother machines are lightweight and seem to hold up to travel. I bought one for less than $100 6 years ago. It was working fine through the summer. We took it on a journey and along the way something fell on it and it broke. But that was my fault for not packing it well.

I replaced it with another Brother, and also purchased a Janome Sew-Mini for toting to guild meetings and such. It works well, has 7 stitches, is mechanical - no computerization at all - is only 5 pounds and only cost $60. It sews well and if I drop it, or it grows legs and walks out of the room without me, I'm only out $60. The only real drawback to it is that it has no light and it's kind of noisy. But I do love it for what it is.

Go for the Janome, it is awesome.