Which type of machine you do general sewing on, piece on or FMQ on is such a personal matter. I have a Singer 221 that I love to piece on-whenever I am away from home. Its stitch is perfect. I also have a Singer 401A that I love also. I use it mostly when I am at home and have a FMQ project going on with the main sewing station. I put it on a table and use it as any other portable. I also take this one in our camper in the summer. It sews beautifully as do al the vintage Singers. I did purchase a new Bernina 530 recently and do most of my FMQing on it. Bernina has prided itself in the design of its #37 patchwork foot in that holding your work so that the edge of it comes just to the edge of the foot keeps the work on the feed dogs and is a 1/4 seam. You do not need to change any needle positions. This machine sets down in a cabinet that my husband built so it is flush with the table. I did not trade my Bernina 1130 in to get the new machine because I did not want to have to replace all of the presser feet I had. (The fact that the presser feet were not universal for Berninas was the down side of a new machine (planned obsolescence). I really like my new machine but I wouldn't want to give up my old ones-they are just comfortable. I also have a treadle that I like to use just for fun. If you purchase a new machine you should be willing to learn to do all that machine was designed to do. I know that weight is a problem in this thread but a wheeled device or a strong neighbor will help-just be careful of the reasons you employ to justify a change.