Thanks for the great responses everyone - and also the reviews that sound good. Sorry David for your experience w/the Hero
I have been thinking about getting one of these machines for retreats, etc for about 6 months now. I really didn't need another machine, as I have a Janome, Viking, Juki and TWO featherweights...but I wanted a light-weight machine that could do more than straight stitching because that limits my choice of what to take with me on retreats. Now that I have the Sparrow 30 I can bring whatever I so desire.
Haven't tried to use it yet, but I have unpacked it and looked at the instruction manual, so that's a start.