Portable machine to take to quilting guild
 

I'm looking for recommendations for a machine to take to quilting guild meetings (I'm going to my first one next month) and other sewing get-togethers. I have a Brother Quattro Innovis 6000D and love it, but it's a little large to take to meetings. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I have a Janome Platinum Gem machine that I highly recommend. I cannot say enough good things about it.

I have a Janome 3160 and I love it. It's light, almost the same weight as a Featherweight and sews great. Many of my quilting friends now have the same machine and they all love it. It has plenty of fancy stitches and you can get a walking foot so you can quilt smaller quilts.

I second the Janome 3160 - it's an excellent machine. I would also consider the Pfaff Passport, because I like the IDT.

I really want a Featherweight because all I really want to be able to do while travelling is straight stitch. I took my Elna on my last road trip and it worked great, but would prefer not to have that wear/tear. So I think the FW is my next purchase (but it might be years since the ones I am finding are $400+)

After researching for a travel machine around Christmas time I finally got the Brother cs6000i. It is a great machine for the money. It is lightweight too.

I have both a Featherweight and a Brother cs6000i, and the Brother is by far my favourite for quilting retreats and such. I like the automatic needle up/down and the fact if I need the zigzag stitch, I have it. And I've been amazed at the number of times when I'm on a retreat that the zigzag comes in handy. But the Featherweight is much cuter!

Since you are used to Brother machines, I suggest that you look at some of the smaller Brother machines. I have a Brother PC420PRW that I love. It has the automatic needle threader, needle up/down function, lots of decorative stitches, comes with lots of feet and knee lift. It is light enough to carry to and from classes but is heavy enough that it doesn't move or vibrate when sewing. It can be found on-line for between $400 and $500.

If your budget is higher, then the Brother dealers offer some nice machines in the $1200- $2000 range that are smaller than your Quattro.

If you want a bare bones basic machine with a few utility stitches, there are a number of Brother machines that are sold at the big box stores for $100-$400' you will need to read some reviews on these to see if they would suit.

Rob

I also take my Janome 3160 to class. Has everything I want but the foot up feature. It even has an extension table.